Six Miniatures III (Green)

Robyn Denny was part of a group of artists in London in the 1950s who were inspired by American popular culture, abstract expressionism and urbanism. His work spanned abstraction and Pop Art, and both styles are referred to in Six Miniatures III (Green) in which the six forms may variously be abstract or representative of high rise architecture. Denny’s interest in architecture translated to projects in which he directly interacted with architecture via murals, making designs for the interior of Embankment tube station.

In 1969, Robyn Denny curated an exhibition of the work of American constructivist artist Charles Biederman. Biederman is primarily known for his reliefs, but before focusing on the relief, he produced abstract, colourful prints and paintings. The encounter with Biederman’s work led to Denny intensifying the use of colours in his own work and using contrasting colours. In Six Miniatures III, he uses the primary colours to produce a vivid contrast with the green background. As Denny’s title suggests, Six Miniatures III (Green) was produced in a number of colour variations. He also made versions with blue, red, yellow and black backgrounds. The production of this print in various colours demonstrates Denny’s interest in disseminating his work through multiples. He worked with Editions Alecto, who published the screenprint in an unlimited edition. Many avant-garde artists from the 1960s onwards produced works in multiples, as they aimed for a more equitable, accessible art market.

Individually, each motif in Six Miniatures III is symmetrical. Together, the six compose a variable and sweeping image. In his 1971 book on the artist, David Thompson wrote of Denny’s symmetrical compositions: ‘symmetry is what gives a Denny image its characteristic solemnity – its iconic, ritual, hieratic presence’. [1] From the 1960s, Denny produced a number of works where the image was in the lower part of the plane, with a solid background behind. This subtly shifts our expectation of the image and distorts the perspective. In Six Miniatures III, the effect is one of a huddle of skyscrapers in the distance under an expansive sky.

Tania Moore, June 2021

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