A Master’s Memories GARETH SANSOM
In a career spanning over six decades, Gareth Sansom has garnered a reputation for being something of an iconoclast. Despite the perception that has clung to him for much of his career, Sansom was never interested in being recognised as some sort of provocative “bad boy,” he simply doesn’t place that much importance on the judgements of others. Such a posture might have long exceeded its usefulness, or settled into a stale contrivance preserved by an artist past their prime, whereas Sansom’s formidable output continues apace with a robust and almost obdurate vigour.
Indeed, at eighty-two, both the man and his works remain expressive of the same conviction and ferocious dedication as ever. Sansom’s desire to provoke a visceral response from the viewer is evident in both his bracing approach to colour and the often-turbulent subject matter of his works. “I’m interested in the bizarre, I’m interested in things that are unsaid,” he agrees. Sansom’s schematic-style paintings are more like stage sets across which various philosophical
