Patrick Caulfield: Pass the Peas

18 May-20 Jun 2023

Overview

Josh Lilley is honoured to present Pass the Peas, an exhibition of never-before-seen works by iconic Post-war British artist Patrick Caulfield (1936–2005).

Working closely with the Caulfield family, the exhibition will comprise works on paper, paintings and sketch books from his archive, together with a selection of significant paintings loaned from important collections within the UK. The presentation considers the shaping of an artist whose work so often played with reality and illusion, and for whom restraint, conceptually and formally was fundamental to practice. As an artists whose was renowned in his ability to reconcile society and solitude, this intimate reappraisal reflects on how Caulfield’s philosophy and approach guided his creative methodology and output; providing a deeper understanding of Caulfield’s subconscious, his energy, and his sense of humour as a painter of modernity.

The exhibition’s title, Pass the Peas, comes from a 1968 Western film The Stalking Moon where Gregory Peck’s character considers how the mundane can simultaneously be extraordinary, and how seemingly insignificant details function to punctuate our existence. In Caulfield’s work we see tools or vessels to elicit a certain feeling – a vase, a wine glass, a room as a site of comfort or of containment. Whilst posing as simple, functional devices, the are much more than the sum of their parts – details which open up worlds of aspiration and inspiration. It is these details, motifs and symbols which are highlighted in these remarkable archival works.

Well known for his shy personality and reclusivity, these unseen works tune into the more private profile of an artist whose life seemed in sharp contrast with his confident painterly style and his iconicism as a virtuoso of contemporary still life. From this body of work, we are able to trace Caulfield’s process and understand these acts and the tenets which drove and defined his work. Perhaps Caulfield’s most powerful legacy today, 18 years since his death, is what it takes to be an artist, how you get there, what you make, and what you share with others.

A significant publication which documents and contextualises these archival works will be published on the occasion of the exhibition, to be released at the beginning of June. The book will reproduce the works in the exhibition alongside an essay by art historian and writer Ben Street. A public event to celebrate the launch of the book will take place during London Gallery Weekend.

Alongside the exhibition, Josh Lilley will present a new edition of prints, produced by the Caulfield family on the 50th anniversary of Some Poems of Jules Laforgue with Images by Patrick Caulfield (copyright 1973) – a collection of writings accompanied by twenty-two screen prints made by the artist in 1972. Originally conceived as twenty-six plates with four remaining unpublished, the four new editions realise the complete series of works. Entitled ‘The Laforgue Four’ this collection of new posthumous screen prints will be made available as part of the exhibition.

Artists