Roy Turner Durrant (1925-1998).
Roy Turner Durrant was a twentieth century English artist whose work captured the pictorial characteristics through abstraction using bold experimentation with form, colour, shape and geometric movement in the pursuit of an intellectual, perhaps visceral response, over simply visual appreciation.
Born in Lavenham, Suffolk, England on the 4th of October 1925, he quickly developed a love for drawing which he maintained throughout his life, his personal mantra being, ‘ars longa, vita brevis’ a Latin translation of an aphorism originally from the Greek, meaning ‘Art is long, life is short’, a sentiment which proved both enduring and poignant.
Art abstraction began in the early 20th Century and was a fusion of many differing expressions be it fauvism, cubism and figurative expressionism which sought to throw away any attempt at realistic representations or verisimilitude in favour of, well, everything else. There were of course many art ‘movements’ that can be identified to this period with a succession of ‘artistic adjustments’ that characterized the early twentieth century European avant-garde, but arguably they all took issue with spatial composition, perspective, formal tradition and ultimately any established academic convention. Roy Turner Durrant was born amidst a period of enormous change, bounded by two world wars, he was no doubt influenced by the ever-changing landscape that would see the first ‘abstraction’ arguably the watercolour by Vassily Kandinsky (1911) although there were others who could perhaps put claim to such an ‘historic’ contribution. Either way, this was a period when an escape from ‘reality’ was both understandable and perhaps inevitable, freeing those artists to experiment with colour, shape, non-naturalistic forms and the latitude to indulge in a momentary abandonment of reality. By the late 1950’s modernistic abstraction would come to dominate the whole international field of art and had come to symbolise the ‘freedom’ of the western world, an expressive human release, captured in an elixir of movement, colour and spontaneity. If it was to perform with integrity it surely must be autonomous and this spirit and individualism can clearly be seen in the works of Roy Turner Durrant.
His early life was very much influenced by art, having left school at 14 years of age which was not uncommon, he continued drawing and painting while working in a local electrical shop prior to joining the Suffolk Regiment (1944-1947). After the war he pursued an artistic direction by securing his place at Camberwell College of Arts (1948-1952) where he was taught by the likes of Edward Ardizzone, Keith Vaughan and John Buckland Wright. Having had his first One Man Exhibition in 1948 in Lavenham Guildhall, his work would be frequently exhibited in London galleries, such as The Archer Gallery Kensington, (1952) and the open-air event at Battersea. His artistic output would over time become increasingly abstracted, but as can be seen he retained a unique personal technique which conveyed great sensitivity. In 1963 he moved to Cambridge working as a Gallery Manager at Heffers book sellers while continuing to paint in the evenings and weekends, a prolific painter, his career was both long and distinguished with works shown in major public galleries, universities, and private exhibitions in the UK and overseas.
His work was regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy London Summer Exhibition and numerous commercial galleries and still today his work continues to feature in numerous collections. For those interested in finding out more, his work can be viewed digitally at:
(i) Tate London,
(ii) Five Colleges Museums Consortium, USA
(iii) Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge.
Since his death, there have been several retrospective exhibitions of Durrant’s work including a one man show at the Fine Art Society, in New Bond Street London (2008).
His work remains extremely interesting and captures the energy of the period fused with his own unique style. Durrant’s work has recently been exhibited both as a one man show and as part of collective exhibitions and will undoubtedly remain in demand.
2022: (Solo)
Roy Turner Durrant: The Redfern Gallery, London, UK.
2020: (Group).
Winter Exhibition, Belgrave St, St Ives, UK.
Since 2008, the record price for this artist at auction is for, ‘Hanging Form, White and Gold’, sold at Sotheby’s London in 2008.
Galleriedesart are proud to have two works by Roy Turner Durrant in our collection;
The first a wonderfully engaging work entitled, ‘Flowers; Lavenham’ Mixed media on card, signed and dated ‘54’ in Pencil and Inscribed verso. Provenance: Sotheby’s Olympia, 3rd June 2003.
The second work being ‘female figure’, 1965. Mixed media on paper, initialled and dated upper left ‘65’. Provenance; Private collection, purchased from the Artist.
Photo Credit Main Picture: Royturnerdurrant – Roy Turner Durrant.com
