Becoming Gustav Metzger: Uncovering The Early Years, 1945-59

This is one of a small group of ‘extremely fast and intense’ paintings made on plywood boxes found in London that once held large sheets of Kodak photographic paper. All of whichhave inspection markings with dates that place their manufacture to between 1959 and 1961, suggesting a likely date for the group as c. 1961–2. Metzger applied oil and emulsion paint with a palette knife which was then used to cut into the board.  This painting evidences Metzger’s desire to experiment with painting on non-traditional art materials, which also included reinforced plastic and mild steel. Works such as Painting on Cardboard illustrate how, even while developing a theory of Auto-Destructive art that leaves no material behind, Metzger was still painting with traditional materials.