Outer Space, 1969 (oil on canvas and card)

This painting highlights the way Jules de Goede creates sculptural elements within the canvas, whereby the incision in the painting was a planned and crafted technique. The Dutch artist working in Britain has slashed the canvas in a controlled manner so that the cut edges curve inwards to the space behind. In this way, he has created real three-dimensional space and sculptural form. At the same time, the cuts to the picture surface deny the traditional pictorial idea of a flat screen on which an illusion of reality is displayed. The artwork is its own subject. The concept that art did not need to represent anything beyond itself was important in '60s and '70s art.