nigel markham

The recent paintings are about appearance and surface. They are about the sensation of looking at something that is familiar, that can be understood by the viewer who shares common ground with the painter and other viewers.

The paintings are about the amount of time it takes to look at a subject and the amount of detail that is required within the painting to convey the situation of seeing or looking. The time taken to complete each painting also relates to the speed of seeing and comprehension.

Perhaps we see faster than we saw before because we have less time and we want immediate visual gratification. For the painter it may also the notion of getting the thing both started and finished without ever considering returning to the work to include second thoughts or revisions This self imposed constraint, the defining of parameters, becomes a driving force behind the making of the image.

The process involves direct studies from observation. Photographs, as visual aids, would not work because they create a barrier between the eye and the subject. It is, of course, more than the eye that is involved. Sensation of the subject and its drawing requires being in the presence of the subject. Distance and intimacy become the prime considerations, the time of day and the feelings that are in the eye of the artist.

Education

1981-1982     Goldsmiths College
1975-1978     Royal Academy Schools
1972-1975     Norwich School of Art
1971-1972     Hertfordshire College of Art

Solo Shows

2007             Michael Brown Gallery, Hertfordshire
2003             Michael Brown Gallery, Hertfordshire
1987             Hitchin Museum and Art Gallery, Hertfordshire
1983             Foxes Gallery, Stevenage
1983             Hitchin Museum and Art Gallery, Hertfordshire
1981             Goldsmiths College, London

Selected Group Exhibitions/Events

2003             Eclipse Gallery, Hitchin, Hertfordshire
2003             Artshed, Hertfordshire
2000             Kettles Yard, Cambridge
1999             The Place, Letchworth, Hertfordshire
1998             The Royal Academy, London
1996             Cheltenham Drawing Exhibition
1995             Drawing for All, Touring exhibition
1992             Edith Grove Gallery, Chelsea, London
1978             Three Post Graduate, Royal College of Art, London
1975             One of Four, Playhouse Gallery Harlow

Collections

Works in a number of private collections

Awards

1976-1977     Royal Academy Premium Exhibitions
                    Connoisseur Prize 76
                    Landseer prize 77
1974             Hertfordshire College of Art
                    One of six ex-students selected for first ex-students exhibition