Marbled marvels
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'Untitled', 1961-1964 by Andre Thomkins at Hauser & Wirth until February 28, 2009. 196a Piccadilly, London W1J 9DY.
All images courtesy the estate of Andre Thomkins and Hauser & Wirth Zürich London © ProLitteris, Zurich 2009/Hauser & Wirth Zurich London
Look carefully, and you'll see that these paintings bear much resemblance to paper 'marbling' - a colourful craft technique used to make the patterned endpapers found in old-fashioned books. This is not surprising, as the artist, Andre Thomkins (1930-1985), employed a similar technique. Carefully floating oily paint on the surface of water, Thomkins manipulated it to make delicate designs, which he then carefully transferred onto sheets of paper. The results are fabulously trippy. They're relevant not just to their historical time period (an earnest 60s psychedelia) and ours (a knowing, retro-ironic psychedelia), but also to something much more timeless and universal - something properly cosmic.







