Utopia Art, Sydney, 1994 Laverty Collection

Private collection, Sydney

In the early 1970s Peter Upward worked on his highly dynamic ‘disc’ paintings of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) abstract swirls on coloured grounds. As John McDonald notes, “The tondo shape, and the spontaneous manner of applying colour gave Upward a profound sense of freedom…. A bold, calligraphic mark in bright red, set against a deep blue, it feels both heraldic and elemental. The line echoes the ink paintings of the Zen masters, but the colour is as vivid as any Colour Field canvas.”