Patrick Caulfield (1963-2005)

Bathroom Mirror

Caulfield studied at Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Reacting against the fashions of the time, including American Abstract Expressionism, he arrived at a style based on black outlines and flat blocks of colour reminiscent of graphic and comic book art.

Caulfield was naturally drawn to the deep colour and flat surface of screenprints. They enabled him to produce work quickly and reach a wider audience, but the starting point was always a painting in acrylic. Bathroom Mirror's simple design verges on the abstract but through the mirror's surface Caulfield creates an illusion of depth. Focusing on everyday items in this stripped down fashion adds a sense of disquiet to apparently mundane subjects.

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