I first encountered Paul Richards in my first year at the Slade School of Fine Art when he gave an emotive talk on his practice as a tutor. Despite his obvious resentment at having to present to yet another batch of freshers, he was unable to suppress his passion and strong faith in the power of art to share, question and communicate. For those that know Paul, he can often come across somewhat apathetic and facetious, but get him going, and it’s soon apparent that he is a true romantic – Paul works for love, sadness and enquiry, painting again and again, with utter sincerity, the subjects that simultaneously fascinate and allude him; the female form. Empowered by Paul, I left the talk inspired to paint again, at a time when it was deeply unpopular.
Paul began his career less conventionally, gaining prominence in the 70s with his friend and the artist Bruce McLean as director of Nice Style, the world’s first ‘pose band’, who were supported by The Kinks! Paul is somewhat modest about this period but McLean maintains it held its place ‘somewhere between Rock and Punk’, and I would like to argue that it rivals the ‘live sculptures’ of St Martin’s students Gilbert & George.
Paul is now considered a serious, figurative painter. Until this new exhibition with Connaught Brown, my seven years of knowing Paul had indicated that he only painted models. At college, he was an avid supporter of the life room and he always has a sitter in his studio. It was therefore of great surprise to receive an invitation to ‘A Day At The Zoo’ slipped under my studio door, with no prior mention of it.
‘A Day At The Zoo’ is an exquisite culmination of Paul’s last three years spent studying the animals at London Zoo, a favourite spot of his since childhood. This departure from his usual subject matter has meant that some collectors are hesitant to invest in the new series, but the animals are painted with the same intensity, intimacy and severity as if they were human. Birds, tigers and camels are entirely personified and dignified with genuine portraits, as if they sat for him in his Fulham studio, including a gorilla with keen, wild eyes (see above).
Paul Richard’s paintings are thickly layered and full of movement. He sculpts bright ice-cream-like colours until they melt into one another – even the edges of his canvases look delectable, continuing the foray of life and landscape beyond the frame. Through the busyness of the paint, Paul’s line between subject and background becomes indistinguishable, cleverly camouflaging his subject to draw us in. Paul Richard’s paintings are rare and beautiful, like the animals they depict.
Image credit: Gorilla Head by Paul Richards, 2011, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Connaught Brown.
LATEST NEWS & COMMMENT
Wood carving flourished in Southern Germany in the late 15th century onwards, resulting in exquisitely crafted devotional sculptures. Today, these figures and reliefs may be found for as little as £5,000, though the best examples command high prices.
Previous
ShareThis | 
Comments
There are currently no comments for this article.
Post a comment