The Given

2003-4. Oil on canvas. 63x71in /160x180cm.

This painting gave its title to the exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery New York in 2004. See also 50 Etchings 2005 and the watercolour Given. The Given here means both the task that is the inherited irresolvable quest, and the given cultural background of shared language and memory. This inheritance, which predisposes our behaviour, might be thought of as natural since it is not chosen but received. The dictionary describes given as an established fact. CLB.