“This exhibit takes its title from a less-than-profound observation. We cannot see through, beyond or beneath the surface of things. Hence, in the visible world, home to the visual arts, everything is superficial.
The great Sir Laurence Olivier’s was once asked, ”why did you choose acting as a career?” He replied, “look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me.” Like Olivier, I am motivated to show off what I can do, how I can pull-off the remarkable feat of using paint on a two dimensional surface to create an illusion of a 3D subject. This is particularly satisfying if the subject is challenging or tricky – like a moving, reflective, faceted, translucent or textured surface.
So, initially, my intention was a simple stretching exercise, nothing more. I set myself a goal to complete, everyday, a new painting of some particularly challenging subject. Some days the muse was with me. As the walls surrounding you attest, on others she was not. Nonetheless, over the course of four months in early 2017, I managed to complete 111 individual ‘studies.’ As the work progressed, however, a more ambitious objective took shape in my thoughts – to meld all these desultory images into a single coherent installation, a sort-of mosaic tableau or panorama.
Look what I did! Look what I did! Look what I did!”
~Richard Hill
Richard’s website: www.richardhillart.com
