{"product_id":"placeholder","title":"John Mitchell 'Palladium 2011 black\/red' Ink on Aluminium","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJohn Mitchell (1943-2014)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePalladium 2011, Black\/Red\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInk on aluminium, 2011\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn original work by British abstract artist John Mitchell, whose career spanned more than five decades and explored the relationship between mathematics, colour, painting and sculpture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBorn in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, Mitchell studied at Kingston College of Art before establishing himself as an artist and influential teacher. His first solo exhibition was held at Camden Arts Centre in 1972, followed by exhibitions at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham and Galerie Swart in Amsterdam.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1978, he was awarded the prestigious Gregory Fellowship in Painting at the University of Leeds, previously held by Terry Frost. The fellowship gave Mitchell two years to concentrate on his own work and culminated in a major exhibition at Leeds University Galleries.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThroughout his career, Mitchell was particularly interested in the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical progression in which each number is the sum of the preceding two. He used these proportional relationships to explore geometry, repetition and the sometimes surprising ways in which apparently identical forms can be perceived differently.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePalladium 2011, Black\/Red\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e belongs to Mitchell’s later period, when his longstanding investigation of geometric abstraction increasingly crossed the boundaries between painting and sculpture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe work is created in black and red ink on aluminium, with a series of precisely arranged geometric projections forming an almost circular composition. The red appears intermittently behind the black, creating a subtle relationship between the two colours and suggesting another layer beneath the surface.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis relationship between what is visible and what is concealed was central to Mitchell’s work. He was fascinated by how small changes in proportion, orientation or colour could fundamentally alter our understanding of a form.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 2011, Mitchell’s work was the subject of an exhibition titled \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIncised and Cut Tondos\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e at Lemon Street Gallery in Truro, reflecting his continuing interest in circular compositions and the relationship between two-dimensional images and three-dimensional objects.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMitchell spent his later years working from his studio overlooking Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall, continuing to develop his ideas through painting, drawing and sculpture.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn an appreciation of his work written in 2011, fellow artist David Ross described Mitchell’s achievement as a willingness to explore rather than explain, allowing highly ordered systems and intuition to coexist.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn interesting example of Mitchell’s later work, made just three years before his death.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eArtist:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e John Mitchell (1943-2014)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTitle:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Palladium 2011, Black\/Red\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDate:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 2011\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMedium:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Ink on aluminium\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e United Kingdom\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eProvenance:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e John Mitchell’s Personal Collection \u0026amp; Studio Sale, Lay’s Auctioneers, Cornwall, August 2026\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePresentation:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Framed\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"a fold of chairs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":60185349325184,"sku":null,"price":240.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/3093\/files\/DSCF9896.jpg?v=1793274018","url":"https:\/\/www.afoldofchairs.com\/products\/placeholder","provider":"a fold of chairs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}