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Stephen Farthing RA Paintings: The Fourth Wall
23 May - 4 July 2010
A RARE retrospective of a major international artist comes to the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol this summer.
New York and London-based artist Stephen Farthing RA reinvents the world through his large-scale contemporary paintings, 1982 - 2009, in ‘The Fourth Wall’. Stephen’s inspiration comes from both reality - as experienced through travel and news reports - and fantasy, through classic novels and the work of other artists.
His latest paintings, ‘The Back Story’ series, nod to the exhibition name. Using the work of famous artists such as Pollock, Stephen looks on the painting in its gallery location, peering through the wall and the written description of the work.
A main part of ‘The Fourth Wall’ is the 2007 ‘Bling’ series, where Stephen explores the fantasised world of 16th century court portraiture. “The figure and the sitter’s likeness were secondary to the trappings of the sitter’s royal or aristocratic standing,” Stephen muses. “The greatest communication is in the understanding and rendering of the costume - whether 16th century bling or the current gear.” Paintings such as ‘Bling! Henry’ dazzle with precious gems and settings.
A recurrent theme in Stephen’s work is room interiors, which he uses to great effect, whether in capturing his own state of mind or commenting on world events. ‘Things to Look at in Bed’ is a reaction to the upheaval caused by the birth of his daughter. ‘Gaddafi’s Tent, Seen as’ is inspired by a Herald Tribune photograph and the visual ambiguity within it created by the evidence of both culture and war in Gaddafi’s canvas headquarters.
‘Turnerian Topography’ - one of ten waterfall paintings first exhibited in Japan in a specially designed space - was created after visiting the source of Turner’s own alpine waterfall paintings. ‘The Knowledge’ are a series of cityscapes, ambitious exercises in wide-space drawing, in which he created his “own abbreviated version of the City.” The group title refers to the test which London cab drivers take.
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'Bling!
Henry' 2007 acrylic on canvas 76 x 101 cm |
'A
Perfect Hand' 2007 oil on canvas 207 x 173 cm |
'Gadaffi's
Tent, Seen As' 1987 oil on canvas 173 x 206 cm |
Stephen Farthing studied at St Martin’s School of Art (1969 - 73) and the Royal College of Art (1973 - 76), where he went on to teach. From 1990 he was Ruskin Master at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, University of Oxford until 2000. He was elected Royal Academician in 1998 and was made Executive Director of the New York Academy of Art in 2000. In 2004, Stephen was appointed as the Rootstein Hopkins Research Chair of Drawing at the University of Arts London.
Stephen represented Britain at the Sao Paulo Biennale in 1989 and has exhibited all over the world. His work is held in numerous public collections. His recent commissions include murals for Aston Villa Football Club and Cleveland Browns Football Stadium USA. A catalogue for the exhibition includes an essay by Randy Lerner, the art collector and Aston Villa owner.
The Fourth Wall is open 23 May - 4 July 2010 at the Royal West of England Academy, open seven days a week.
Associated events include a lecture by the artist on 26 May, exhibition tours each Saturday 29 May - 12 June at 2pm, and a painting workshop on 1 July.
For more information please ring
0117 973 7874. back