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Exhibition: PAUL HAMLYN: "Rendlesham Forest" Paintings at Art Space Gallery | Michael Richardson Contemporary Art 22 May – 20 June 2009

From:     
Category: Press Release
Date:     03 June 2009
Time:     07:51 AM

Review:


Living and working in Suffolk and London, Paul Hamlyn’s paintings draw on aspects of the British
landscape into which he weaves a narrative that infuses the work with a dreamlike, surreal sensibility.

In his most recent works Hamlyn has devised a method of arriving at an unexpected subject matter by
starting the paintings out in the landscape and then developing them back in his London studio into
deeply atmospheric images. On the one hand they make statements about the intensity and beauty of
the physical world, and on the other, there is a conscious attempt to engender a feeling of disquiet
and alienation.
 
The title of the show, Rendlesham Forest, refers to an area of landscape close to Hamlyn’s base in
Suffolk that he frequently visits and paints. It is also the site of perhaps the most famous UFO
event to have happened in Britain and as such offers the perfect setting for Hamlyn to combine
imagery from the real world with his own inner preoccupations: a retreat into a private sanctuary
that elevates the commonplace and weaves a rich narrative based on his own personal experiences, his
fears and memories. Ordinary events like a barbeque, a picnic or walking the dog in a woodland are
transformed, sometimes into humorously epic scenes, that may conceal a sinister undercurrent or a
disturbing question. However specific the starting point may have been the final image describes a
meeting between the external world and a vision from within.
 
Paul Hamlyn (b. Stockport,1953) studied Art at St Martin’s (1981- 84) and Goldsmith’s MA (1986-87).
He has shown regularly in the UK and his portrait illustrations have appeared in newspapers and
magazines throughout Europe and America.  This will be his first solo exhibition with Art Space Gallery.


A catalogue accompanies the exhibition with 11 full colour plates and text by Andrew Child.

A selection of the work can be viewed on-line at: www.artspacegallery.co.uk 


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