Patrick Hughes: 60 years of Art

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One of Britain’s most influential artists, Patrick Hughes, is celebrating 60 Years of Art with a new solo exhibition at London’s Bel-Air Fine Art Gallery in Mayfair. The exhibition will not only explore past works but will also include new paintings exclusive to the exhibition. 

Patrick was an early Pop artist and then created his iconic Reverspective works  - a series of illusionary 3D canvases, that put traditional perspective into reverse. 

Coinciding with his 80th birthday, 60 Years of Art will fill the entirety of the gallery across two floors and will include more than 40 of Hughes’ most visually arresting artworks, including his famous surrealist concoctions of rainbows. 

Hughes explains: “More than 60 years ago, I went to college to study art and I soon realised I was interested in wit and humour and that was the mood I wanted to create. I did this through stylised representative forms such as hearts and rainbows and jigsaws and doors, along with symmetrical and obvious compositions. I was very drawn to the shapes of perspective, trapezoids and all of the angles leading to infinity; the philosophical comedy of solid shapes that seem to move and follow you around the room.

“This exhibition shows works from then till now, including Kings and Queens 1960, a student work, the sculpture Railway Lines, 1963, and the gloss painting on board, Prison Rainbow, 1976.”

The evolution of Patrick Hughes is partly technical – he can vary his shapes with cut-ins and other innovations, and can call upon various representations like books, boxes, graffiti, and the work of other artists. Today, he is inspired by the reaction to his work by the worldwide public, who appreciate and buy his originals and multiples, enjoying to sway and dance before the reverspectives.

He concludes: “My paintings go beyond languages and cultures. I get vivid responses from people all over the world.”