Redoubt
Charles Clough
Description
Charles Clough
United States, born 1951
Redoubt
1990
Oil on canvas
2008/2.225
Subject Matter:
The word “redoubt” is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as:
1. Fortification.
a. A small work projecting from or within a bastion or ravelin (now only in detached redoubt). In later use chiefly: an enclosed fieldwork or outwork, having little or no flanking defences.
b. An entrenched stronghold or refuge; = REDUIT n. 2.
2. fig. or in figurative context. A stronghold, retreat, or refuge.
3. a. An entertainment consisting of music and dancing, esp. a masked ball. Now hist.
b. A public assembly hall used for gambling and entertainments. Obs.
Physical Description:
High-gloss abstract expressionist painting of a large Africa-shaped form in red against black ground. Clough’s unique way of applying paint to the canvas results in a highly articulated and densely textured surface. “In place of the brush and other typical painter's tools, Clough uses an instrument he calls the ‘Big Finger,’ a large balloon-like contraption that he invented to spread poured house enamel on masonite into broad gestural constellations.” (Max Henry, “charles clough,” http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/reviews/henry/henry2-5-99.asp)
Usage Rights:
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