Description:

S.H., abstract oil on canvas, 1971.

Expressive abstract-figurative portrait featuring a monumental, mask-like face, executed in oil on canvas with impasto brushwork and strong contrasts of red, black, yellow, and green. Signed S.H. and dated 1971 at the upper left.

Material: Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: Visual size 50 × 40 cm, total size 53 × 43 cm.
Period: 1971.
Condition: In excellent condition with minor signs of wear.

Bio:
The work is characteristic of the abstract-expressionist figurative tradition found in European art during the 1960s and 1970s. The human figure, and particularly the face, was often simplified and distorted through bold contours, thick applications of paint, and spontaneous brushwork. The result is a raw and immediate visual language in which colour, texture, and painterly gesture become as important as the subject itself. The artist behind the signature S.H. has not been identified with certainty.