I am a British artist living in Auckland, New Zealand.
I work mainly in oil on canvas but also in photomontage. The titles are working devices which merely indicate a possible starting point for interpretation. Each painting stems from an individual concept, rather than as part of a series, and is often a notion which is built on in unforeseen, intuitive ways. The pictures appear as riddles and are intended to have the atmosphere of dreams, yet trigger a sense of recognition as fragments of a strangely familiar world in which the images gives rise to irrational associations. They are an attempt to distill a sense of the absurd, to depict a disconcerting universe and present staged psychological dramas. The desire is to follow the original impulse and to develop the work in order to capture an inner state, a 'note' which may resonate with the viewer.
The goal is to articulate a non-verbal world, a faux reality that does not invite literal reading. I want to evoke and make tangible the convergence of the conscious and the subconscious, and be alert to the avenues that may reveal themselves as the work unfolds. There is no direct narrative or symbolism, but it is my desire that the pictures be viewed and interpreted by others, and prompt an emotional response. When painting, I take part in a similar process, following the work’s own internal logic.
EXHIBITIONS
2019 Artbox.Project Zurich1.0, SwissArtExpo. Work on display
2015 iShen Gallery, Auckland, NZ. Painting - solo show
2014 Work in the collection of the Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland New Zealand
2012 Muehlfeld-Stohrer Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany. Painting – solo show
2007 - 2010 Morgan St. Gallery, Auckland, NZ. Painting – including solo show
2007 Park Lane Art Awards, Auckland, NZ. Painting
2004 - 2006 McPherson Gallery, Auckland, NZ. Painting
1998 Zamocca Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. Painting, photo-montage – solo show.
1996 Art Space Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. Painting
1995 Chiba Artists Exhibition, Chiba, Japan. Painting
1994 Art Salon, Chiba, Japan. Painting
1990 Art Teachers’ Exhibition, Freeport, Bahamas. Photographs
1985 Crawford Arts Centre, St. Andrews, UK. Painting, photo-screen prints
1984 Dundee Printmakers' Workshop, Dundee, UK. Photo-screen prints
1982 Scottish Young Contemporaries, Edinburgh, UK. Photo-montage - competition prize-winner
1982 Fairmaid Gallery, Perth, UK. Photo-montage
TRAINING
1976 -1977 Liverpool Polytechnic, UK. Art Teacher’s Diploma
1973 -1976 Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London. BA Hon. Fine Art
1972 -1973 Liverpool Art College, UK. Art Foundation Course
I work mainly in oil on canvas but also in photomontage. The titles are working devices which merely indicate a possible starting point for interpretation. Each painting stems from an individual concept, rather than as part of a series, and is often a notion which is built on in unforeseen, intuitive ways. The pictures appear as riddles and are intended to have the atmosphere of dreams, yet trigger a sense of recognition as fragments of a strangely familiar world in which the images gives rise to irrational associations. They are an attempt to distill a sense of the absurd, to depict a disconcerting universe and present staged psychological dramas. The desire is to follow the original impulse and to develop the work in order to capture an inner state, a 'note' which may resonate with the viewer.
The goal is to articulate a non-verbal world, a faux reality that does not invite literal reading. I want to evoke and make tangible the convergence of the conscious and the subconscious, and be alert to the avenues that may reveal themselves as the work unfolds. There is no direct narrative or symbolism, but it is my desire that the pictures be viewed and interpreted by others, and prompt an emotional response. When painting, I take part in a similar process, following the work’s own internal logic.
EXHIBITIONS
2019 Artbox.Project Zurich1.0, SwissArtExpo. Work on display
2015 iShen Gallery, Auckland, NZ. Painting - solo show
2014 Work in the collection of the Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland New Zealand
2012 Muehlfeld-Stohrer Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany. Painting – solo show
2007 - 2010 Morgan St. Gallery, Auckland, NZ. Painting – including solo show
2007 Park Lane Art Awards, Auckland, NZ. Painting
2004 - 2006 McPherson Gallery, Auckland, NZ. Painting
1998 Zamocca Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. Painting, photo-montage – solo show.
1996 Art Space Gallery, Tokyo, Japan. Painting
1995 Chiba Artists Exhibition, Chiba, Japan. Painting
1994 Art Salon, Chiba, Japan. Painting
1990 Art Teachers’ Exhibition, Freeport, Bahamas. Photographs
1985 Crawford Arts Centre, St. Andrews, UK. Painting, photo-screen prints
1984 Dundee Printmakers' Workshop, Dundee, UK. Photo-screen prints
1982 Scottish Young Contemporaries, Edinburgh, UK. Photo-montage - competition prize-winner
1982 Fairmaid Gallery, Perth, UK. Photo-montage
TRAINING
1976 -1977 Liverpool Polytechnic, UK. Art Teacher’s Diploma
1973 -1976 Goldsmiths College, Univ. of London. BA Hon. Fine Art
1972 -1973 Liverpool Art College, UK. Art Foundation Course