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White

In physics, white is the sum of all the colours. To the human eye, white appears to be the total absence of colour. Amongst artists, white and its many uses in art are continuously evolving and challenging those who would embrace them. Is white, then, a non-colour, or an enhancer of colours? Intangible or material? Absence or excess?

Since Antiquity, white has been appreciated for its symbolic value. In Ancient Greece, where they would paint their statues, it was a sign of incompletion, whereas the Romans believed it showed pomp and imperialist virtue. With the rise of Christianity, white was used in opposition to black in order to emphasise moral dichotomies: the pure, divine white against the darkness. In some cases, however, white was used to show sickness or death, most notably in the pallid representations of the skeletal, crucified Christ.

In the Renaissance white was used to sublimate faces and backgrounds. Da Vinci even based his sfumato technique on the soft transition from light into darkness. Throughout the history of painting, white was considered precious for its ability to reflect light. It attracts the gaze even when used in the tiniest quantities, and illuminates the subject, drawing out stunning contrasts as seen in the works of Rembrandt, or in Vermeer's famous Girl with the Pearl Earring.

With the rise of Impressionism, white was used as the brightest tone amongst shades of grey. While Manet produced canvases which were forerunners to monochromes, including The Reader, which was almost pure white, Monet delivered a stunning gradient of whites whilst recreating the snow at his home in Giverny. The first true white monochrome appeared with the arrival of Malevitch's White Square on a White Background. The artist said 'I have broken the blue boundary of colour limits, and come out into the white'.

 

Modernists were equally passionate about white and valued it incredibly highly. Miro in particular questioned the status of white on canvases. In his painting Woman, Bird and Star white is in parts boldly painted, but is also distinctive for its absence around the star. Picasso, on the other hand, explored white in conjunction with his famous coloured periods. Piero Manzoni became famous thanks to his 'achromatic' paintings, a series of canvases produced exclusively in shades of white. Moving into the 20th century, white became synonymous with minimalist abstraction. For artists like Kandinsky, white was a cosmic colour, associated with a spiritual search for the absolute, guiding the artists as he seek to express his emotions.  

 

Today, white remains an ever popular subject. Roman Opalka made his name creating a series of white numbers of a white background, while Daniel Arsham reinvents white walls in galleries by letting his artwork drip down onto them. White is a colour with multiple symbolic interpretations. The colour of divinity or humility; of purity and immaculate, of emptiness and absence, but always colour. If blue has Klein and red has Rothko, it appears that no artist has yet succeeded in fully mastering white – but maybe you'll find them in our selection!


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Photography, Sacrifice, Mathilde Oscar

Sacrifice

Mathilde Oscar

Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

£525

Painting, Wolverine, Onemizer

Wolverine

Onemizer

Painting - 49 x 49 x 1 cm Painting - 19.3 x 19.3 x 0.4 inch

£2,540

Painting, Smile, Mr Brainwash

Smile

Mr Brainwash

Painting - 76 x 56 x 0.3 cm Painting - 29.9 x 22 x 0.1 inch

£10,948

Painting, Love, Patricia Gadisseur

Love

Patricia Gadisseur

Painting - 100 x 50 x 2.5 cm Painting - 39.4 x 19.7 x 1 inch

£482

Sculpture, Pam Splash Chanel, Naor

Pam Splash Chanel

Naor

Sculpture - 33 x 15 x 8 cm Sculpture - 13 x 5.9 x 3.1 inch

£867

Painting, Roboïde Tattoo 2, PRAB'Z

Roboïde Tattoo 2

PRAB'Z

Painting - 120 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 47.2 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

£1,139

Sculpture, Miss Love, Virginia Benedicto

Miss Love

Virginia Benedicto

Sculpture - 30 x 30 x 30 cm Sculpture - 11.8 x 11.8 x 11.8 inch

£1,664 £1,498

Fine Art Drawings, Ronald M., tizlu

Ronald M.

tizlu

Fine Art Drawings - 21 x 16 x 0.1 cm Fine Art Drawings - 8.3 x 6.3 x 0 inch

£394

Sculpture, White Boxing Gloves, Naor

White Boxing Gloves

Naor

Sculpture - 50 x 25 x 15 cm Sculpture - 19.7 x 9.8 x 5.9 inch

£1,664

Sculpture, Pam Splash Rolex, Naor

Pam Splash Rolex

Naor

Sculpture - 33 x 15 x 8 cm Sculpture - 13 x 5.9 x 3.1 inch

£867

Painting, Donald paint, Fat

Donald paint

Fat

Painting - 100 x 100 x 3 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

£2,452

Sculpture, Kong x Air Jordan, Ske

Kong x Air Jordan

Ske

Sculpture - 20 x 11 x 6 cm Sculpture - 7.9 x 4.3 x 2.4 inch

£569

Painting, Not Guilty, Mr Brainwash

Not Guilty

Mr Brainwash

Painting - 76 x 56 x 0.3 cm Painting - 29.9 x 22 x 0.1 inch

£10,948

Sculpture, Dollar skull, Ghost Art

Dollar skull

Ghost Art

Sculpture - 80 x 150 x 20 cm Sculpture - 31.5 x 59.1 x 7.9 inch

£2,102 £1,787

Painting, Abus de couleurs, MAM

Abus de couleurs

MAM

Painting - 60 x 60 x 4 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.6 inch

£981 £785

Painting, Electric Jag, Jo Di Bona

Electric Jag

Jo Di Bona

Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

£5,080

Painting, G80049373C, Wo$h

G80049373C

Wo$h

Painting - 60 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

£701

Painting, G80049339C, Wo$h

G80049339C

Wo$h

Painting - 60 x 60 x 3 cm Painting - 23.6 x 23.6 x 1.2 inch

£701

Painting, #waiting, Wencke Uhl

#waiting

Wencke Uhl

Painting - 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting - 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

£1,793

Sculpture, Pam Splash Dior, Naor

Pam Splash Dior

Naor

Sculpture - 33 x 15 x 8 cm Sculpture - 13 x 5.9 x 3.1 inch

£867

Painting, Mohamed Ali, Pola 4.0

Mohamed Ali

Pola 4.0

Painting - 50 x 40 cm Painting - 19.7 x 15.7 inch

£631

Painting, Panda art, Vincent Bardou

Panda art

Vincent Bardou

Painting - 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting - 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

£2,452

Sculpture, Stormtrooper, In the Woup

Stormtrooper

In the Woup

Sculpture - 27 x 18 x 2.5 cm Sculpture - 10.6 x 7.1 x 1 inch

£657