Blow became known as a remarkable colourist - mentioned in the same breath as Miró and Matisse in some circles - and you can see why from the work on show. Bright doesn’t necessarily mean gaudy - Blow achieves an earthiness in her work which lends the pieces a kind of mature exuberance. Over the prints she adds pieces of hessian sacking and cuts of cardboard which add three-dimensionality and shadow to the works. There is a sure line to her cutting technique, which adds a natural element to the otherwise fairly geometric background. When you see a Juan Miró line, you know that only he could have drawn the line. There’s something of this sure and individual touch to Blow’s work.

Post Italy, Blow went on to become one of Britain’s most important abstract artists, enjoying a career which spanned nearly sixty years of prodigious output. “I wanted to take back home what I learnt to sort it out,” she later explained. She worked hard at it, and pretty soon it started paying off. Roland Penrose bought her first abstract piece, and she went on to become one of the most talked-about and innovative artists in a thriving scene. The works on show are all from limited edition series’ of silk-screen prints and range in price from £1,300 to £1,700. One of them - the last in the series - is the last silkscreen she ever made. She died last year, in August, aged 80. AL

   


Blue Square Collage by Sandra Blow

Where?
Four Square Fine Arts
When? Until 3rd March. Tues-Fri 10-4, Sat 12-4
How Much? Free entry
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