Matthew Radford
dal 6/6/2011 al 28/6/2011
Segnalato da
6/6/2011
Matthew Radford
Agnew's Gallery, London
Pressure Drop '11'. An exhibition of previously unseen works by the painter. This body of work develops Radford's signature themes of people, crowds and the spectator and explores, in an introspective way, the experience of urban living.
The 2011 contemporary programme at Agnew’s takes a turn towards illusory abstraction in
June with an exhibition of previously unseen works by painter Matthew Radford. This
remarkable body of work develops Radford’s signature themes of people, crowds and the
spectator.
To live in a metropolis is to move among the crowds - walking side by side countless
unfamiliar faces or travelling on an underground teeming with strangers - rarely does anyone
stop to acknowledge and understand the quality of a contemporary city experience. These
works by Matthew Radford explore, in an introspective way, the experience of urban living.
The artist opens up a dialogue between the mass of a crowd and the individuality of a single
figure by delineating the space around them, thus abstracting the landscape in which they
appear.
Peter Ackroyd, the prominent novelist and critic, has said of Radford’s work; “In his paintings
Matthew captures the immensity of the city...These are memorable haunting works of urban
art, eliciting both the poetry and the pathos of the city.”
In Matthew Radford: New Works, Radford cleverly combines an investigation into the formal
aspects of painting, through experimentation with the brush, whilst examining the psychology
of interpersonal dynamics within a crowded city.
The exhibition at Agnew’s explores the anonymity and speed in which figures and cars move
through the city, a notion which is intensified by the sweeping of paint across the canvas.
Radford’s images offer the viewer a moment to reflect upon the movement present in these
paintings, and inevitably within their own lives. The artist offers the viewer, a journey; we
travel with him through the streets of anonymous faces, delving deeper into the scene as the
eye darts across the canvas. Over his career Radford has developed an extraordinary body of work focusing on the
spectator. As the viewer we witness a balance; on the one hand we have the random
selection of the scene and on the other his meticulous manipulation of the image.
Matthew Radford was born in London in 1953. Between 1971 to 1974 he attended
Camberwell School of Arts and then after his graduation Radford studied painting with Leon
Kossoff and Ewan Uglow. He has received a number of important accolades including; Jeffrey
Archer Prize for painting in 1981, and an award from the Greater London Council in 1983.
Since the start of his career Radford has worked in Rome, Florence, New York and London.
For further information and images please contact Rachel Phillipps or Kathryn Hone at PagetBaker Associates:
Tel: 0207 323 6963 / Email: rachel@pagetbaker.com Kathryn@pagetbaker.com
Opening 7 June 2011, 6-8 pm
Agnew's Gallery
35 Albemarle Street, London
Opening Hours: Monday -Friday 10am - 5.30pm / Saturday by appointment
Free Admission