John Hoyland, R.A. (b. 1934)

Hoyland's colour became progressively more lustrous, multi-coloured, complex and thrilling through the 1970s. 10.8.76 was painted in 1976 and is similar to lot 136 in that it is suggestive of an aperture, a mirror or indeed a window. However, in this work, light seems to be trying to break through the large central field of blue.
Hoyland said of his body of work from 1974-76 that 'every painting was a struggle' and Gooding continues, 'It is as if the plane has been crudely painted over, the window is a blank; the mirror is dusty ... These were difficult paintings to make, and they carry the travail of their making. For all the brillancy of their high-key colours, they are sombre and intractable monuments; the tensions in them are those of a damned exuberance' (M. Gooding, John Hoyland, London, 1990, p. 18).