A London Study: Concrete Pavement with Dead Leaves

Four real dried leaves are fixed on the surface of this painting. The surface is constructed from fibreglass resin on a wooden framework, textured and coloured to mimic the appearance of a real patch of pavement. This one is of a series of works made in the 1960s of patches of ground chosen randomly. The idea for this painting came from day when a TV screen frame, that was lying on the ground, perfectly framed a piece of earth. When the frame was moved consciously it looked wrong, when it was thrown away accidentally the result was again perfect. Similarly, is the Earth Studies, a series of three dimensional casts of the surface of the earth that serve to document random locations with exceptional preciseness. These works combine real material from the actual site with artificial resins, hence becoming unique pieces that interpret the environment in new ways.
Mark Boyle was a Scottish artist who co-worked and co-created along with his family – Joan Hills and their children Georgia and Sebastian – becoming Boyle Family and exhibiting together since 1985. Before that, Joan and Mark didn’t believe in labels and presented their artworks in a way that could fit better in the art world, with Mark Boyle signing all artworks.