Sun and Sky - Victor Pasmore

A 1970 screenprint by Victor Pasmore, balancing fluid, organic blue forms with precise, geometric black lines and soft circular motifs.

Sun and Sky is a screenprint by the British artist Victor Pasmore, created in 1970. This work reflects the artist's transition from his earlier figurative painting to the geometric and organic abstraction that defined his later career. Pasmore was a central figure in the development of British abstract art, particularly through his involvement with the Euston Road School and his subsequent move toward constructionist principles.

The composition is defined by a stark contrast between controlled, linear elements and spontaneous, fluid forms. On the left, a large, saturated blue shape dominates the space, featuring a soft, sprayed edge that suggests atmospheric depth. From this mass, irregular blue splatters and lines extend toward the right, creating a sense of kinetic energy. This organic, gestural mark-making is balanced by the precise, black geometric lines on the right side of the frame. These lines form a rigid, rectangular structure, punctuated by a small black dot and two circular motifs in pink and yellow.

Pasmore often sought to reconcile the rational with the intuitive in his work. The interplay between the nebulous blue form and the sharp, black geometry demonstrates this balance. The white background acts as an active component of the composition, providing a clean, expansive field that allows the individual elements to breathe. This print is characteristic of Pasmore's graphic output during the 1960s and 1970s, where he utilised the screenprinting medium to explore the relationship between colour, space, and form. By stripping away representational subject matter, Pasmore invites the viewer to engage directly with the visual properties of the print, focusing on the tension between the fluid and the fixed.