AN ARTIST is celebrating simplicity, complexity and colour at his first solo exhibition.
Richard Horsman from Rugby is showcasing his work at Dimension Shift, his exhibition at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum’s Floor One Gallery.
Since he started creating art 15 years ago, Richard’s pictures have been seen all over the world in magazines such as Edge and FHM – but he says he is thrilled to finally have his own exhibition.
He said: “It feels fantastic to have been able to plan and execute every aspect of the event myself. I’ve learnt so much from the experience and seeing so many of my framed pieces in one place is such a buzz.”
The Bilton-based artist, who attended Lawrence Sheriff School and East Warwickshire College in the 80s, was inspired in his youth by colours – Lego bricks as a child, bright postage stamps in the 70s, and the ‘primary-on-black’ contrasts of 80s video games.
He said: “You’ll find this motif of vivid colours and structured patterns runs through the majority of my work.
“The creative spark came when I devised a way to revisit these nostalgic childhood memories by adding depth to the flat, pixelated world of 80s game art.”
He says he creates pictures which add detail and structure to simple starting points.
“The resulting images are large, and when viewed from a distance reveal detail that cannot be seen close up,” he said. “Conversely, closer viewing reveals detail unseen at a distance. Each piece invites the viewer to look and then look again, each time seeing something new.”
He hopes his exhibition has something for everyone.
“The smiles I’ve seen on the faces of people of all ages, and the feedback I’ve had, have been really encouraging.
“Visitors have asked me many detailed questions and really engaged with the idea of getting up close and then stepping back to get the full effect of each image. They tell me they’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Dimension Shift ends on January 23. Richard will be in attendance on Saturday (January 18) to talk with visitors.
Visit www.ragm.co.uk for more information.
