Vase and head
25.5 x 31cm
oil on panel
signed and dated bottom right ‘Preller ‘56’
In this small jewel-like oil on panel Preller juxtaposes a head in profile, recalling the forms of African or archaic sculpture, with a chipped vase with scrolling floral designs. Preller repeatedly incorporated and reworked his favourite motifs in his imagery, and besides these two objects, eggs, candles and shells, amongst many others objects, frequently reappear in his oeuvre. It is tempting to search for an underlying meaning for this head and vase, and the fact that he has chosen to combine them in this painting, but his work resists obvious interpretation. His art is a private meditation and incursion into a dream-like world, and these objects would have been imbued with a personal meaning and significance, and not an overt symbolism. The vigour of the composition can partly be ascribed to his division of the interior space into four blocks of alternating warm and cool colours which provides a dynamic movement for the eye in and out of the picture plane, while the mind is teased by his enigmatic imagery.