Untitled

Created in 1964, this powerful mixed media work demonstrates William Gear’s distinctive approach to abstraction through a restrained palette and an energetic combination of broad gestural marks and incisive linear forms.

The composition is dominated by sweeping passages of deep brown and black, applied with considerable freedom across the sheet. Against these dense areas, lighter drawn and scratched lines introduce a contrasting sense of movement, creating a complex interplay between mass, gesture and space.

The limited palette gives the work an unusually elemental quality, allowing the physicality of Gear’s mark-making to take precedence. The spontaneous handling recalls the expressive freedom associated with European post-war abstraction, while the underlying structure of the composition reflects Gear’s highly individual and disciplined approach to abstract form.

Dating from 1964, the work belongs to an established period in Gear’s career, following his involvement with the European avant-garde and his earlier association with the CoBrA movement. At 71cm high, it is a substantial and visually commanding original work on paper.

Research & Institutional References

Historical Context

By the 1960s, Gear had developed a mature abstract language that retained the spontaneity and expressive freedom of his earlier European associations while becoming increasingly individual. This 1964 work demonstrates that balance particularly well, combining bold gestural passages with a strong underlying sense of structure and rhythm.

Public Collections

Works by William Gear are represented in numerous major public collections, including Tate, the National Galleries of Scotland and the Arts Council Collection, as well as important museum collections internationally.

CoBrA

After settling in Paris following the Second World War, Gear became associated with artists including Karel Appel, Constant, Corneille and Asger Jorn. He exhibited with the CoBrA group in Amsterdam and Copenhagen in 1949, establishing him as an important British participant in the development of post-war European abstraction.