Ikon Ikon Jesse Bruton

Paperback

This catalogue accompanied Jesse Bruton's 2016 exhibition.

Jesse Bruton is one of the founding artists of Ikon. This catalogue tells the fascinating story of his artistic development, starting in the 1950s and ending in 1972 when Bruton stopped painting to embark on a career in picture conservation.

Bruton’s painting Rising Locks (c.1965) depict a run of canal locks, reminiscent of early works by Piet Mondrian, through repetitive, almost cubist, gestures inside an oval shape.

Bruton’s later paintings appear calligraphic, involving white bands meandering across black surfaces, modulated by texture through brushstrokes and the use of a palette knife with different mixtures of medium and pigment. Their titles, such as Winding, Turnabout and Back-up, refer to long-distance driving, the concentration on the road and the peripheral awareness of other things around.

Includes text by Ikon Director Jonathan Watkins.