Mark Making: A Personal Reflection on Art, Taste, and Grief
In this reflective essay from Granta, art dealer Orlando Whitfield explores the evolution of his artistic taste and its connection to his relationship with his father. Initially dismissing British artist Andy Goldsworthy’s nature-based works as overly pastoral and insubstantial, Whitfield favored the clinical aesthetic of contemporary London artists. This preference created tension with his father, who appreciated interwar landscape painters. After suffering severe depression and his father’s sudden death in 2018, Whitfield revisited Goldsworthy’s work through the film Rivers and Tides. He found solace in the artist’s repetitive, meditative process and the ephemeral nature of his creations. This experience allowed Whitfield to recontextualize Goldsworthy within the broader tradition of Land Art, recognizing the depth he had previously overlooked. The narrative intertwines personal grief with critical analysis, illustrating how trauma can reshape aesthetic perception and heal familial divides through a renewed appreciation for art that engages deeply with nature and impermanence.
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Mark Making: A Personal Reflection on Art, Taste, and Grief
In this reflective essay from Granta, art dealer Orlando Whitfield explores the evolution of his artistic taste and its connection to his relationship with his father. Initially dismissing British artist Andy Goldsworthy’s nature-based works as overly pastoral and insubstantial, Whitfield favored the clinical aesthetic of contemporary London artists. This preference created tension with his father, who appreciated interwar landscape painters. After suffering severe depression and his father’s sudden death in 2018, Whitfield revisited Goldsworthy’s work through the film Rivers and Tides. He found solace in the artist’s repetitive, meditative process and the ephemeral nature of his creations. This experience allowed Whitfield to recontextualize Goldsworthy within the broader tradition of Land Art, recognizing the depth he had previously overlooked. The narrative intertwines personal grief with critical analysis, illustrating how trauma can reshape aesthetic perception and heal familial divides through a renewed appreciation for art that engages deeply with nature and impermanence.
Granta