Description
Richard J.S. Young - Original 2008 Acrylic. Exhibited at Richard's solo show at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol in 2008. Full title as inscribed verso: 'His Face Was Once Painted But Has Been Defaced'. Young's works take heavy influence from the works of Francis Bacon, and this is evident in the execution of this painting; the anguish in the abstracted and expressionistic figure is palpable. This makes up part of a series of paintings based on the poem, "Some Notes on the Paintings of Francis Bacon" (1978) by Les Arnold: "these notes begin with a painting by Francis Bacon of a man sitting at a table. he is wearing a dark suit & has a drink in his smudged hand. his face was once painted but has been defaced, one eye remains. the wallpaper moves behind him like a horizontal staircase to a women who does not appear in the painting comes into these notes. he probably has not been waiting for her, & this probably does not happen. the notes are taken from their conversation which is not reported in full, this all happened in 1954." Signed and dated. On canvas on stretchers. In fine condition."I enjoy colour and making marks. My drawings and watercolour paintings are explorations of how the paint or pencil interact with the paper...For me, my more interesting images are those that are cerebral and require some interpretation on the part of the viewer. Certainly, my exhibition pieces are like that. I am primarily a figurative artist, I enjoy drawing and painting the figure."
Sulis Fine art Ltd. are thrilled to bring to you the works of Bath-based artist, Richard J.S. Young. Born in the leafy suburbs of Woking, Surrey in 1954, Richard's family moved to Australia a year later where they settled near Adelaide, and then in Woomera in South Australia. It was in Australia that Richard first began to discover his passion for the arts. Living in Woomera's arid and dry landscape, Richard became fascinated by colour and abstraction, using the library as his inspiration. He revelled in books displaying the paintings of Impressionist artists, particularly the works of Cézanne and Matisse whose works offered a vibrant contrast to the landscape that surrounded him at the time. Young was particularly drawn by Turner's earlier landscapes and the pastiches that followed them, in particular the works of Mark Rothko. These influences stayed with Young throughout his life and career and he often consults the same books as a source of continual inspiration.
Richard obtained a PhD in Chemical Physics at the University of Kent in Canterbury and has spent his life building a reputable career working in the field of solar energy. Young has stated that he had “chose to join his interests in art and science...I was inspired as a teenager by Leonardo Di Vinci who as a Renaissance man joined art and the sciences and pioneered many of the techniques of art and technology”. Richard manifested this grouping by designing pigments for ceramic glazes and also inks for screen printed electronic applications.
Richard J S Young's artistic process indicates an artist who reflects the currents and motions of the outside world. His influences are diverse, extending to music, the figure, the sea and the desert. Current influences are drawn from the abstract expressionist works of Richard Diebenkorn, but greatly from Scottish artist Barbara Rae, whose ‘intense colour bursts that evoke dramatic landscapes but remain resolutely abstract' [RA Magazine, 2014], much in the same character of Young's works exhibited in this collection.
Size
51 x 40.5cm (20.1" x 15.9")Framed Size: 66 x 55cm (26" x 21.7")
See More Like This
For our full collection of Richard J.S. Young click here and for our artist spotlight piece on Richard Young see here
Artist Biography
Born in the leafy suburbs of Woking, Surrey in 1954, Richard's family moved to Australia a year later where they settled near Adelaide, and then in Woomera in South Australia. It was in Australia that Richard first began to discover his passion for the arts. Living in Woomera's arid and dry landscape, Richard became fascinated by colour and abstraction, using the library as his inspiration. He revelled in books displaying the paintings of Impressionist artists, particularly the works of Cézanne and Matisse whose works offered a vibrant contrast to the landscape that surrounded him at the time. Young was particularly drawn by Turner's earlier landscapes and the pastiches that followed them, in particular the works of Mark Rothko. These influences stayed with Young throughout his life and career and he often consults the same books as a source of continual inspiration.
Richard obtained a PhD in Chemical Physics at the University of Kent in Canterbury and has spent his life building a reputable career working in the field of solar energy. Young has stated that he had “chose to join his interests in art and science...I was inspired as a teenager by Leonardo Di Vinci who as a Renaissance man joined art and the sciences and pioneered many of the techniques of art and technology”. Richard manifested this grouping by designing pigments for ceramic glazes and also inks for screen printed electronic applications.
Richard J S Young's artistic process indicates an artist who reflects the currents and motions of the outside world. Music is a strong influence on his art, most recently the electric duo Blondes.
His influences are diverse, extending to music, the figure, the sea and the desert. Current influences are drawn from the abstract expressionist works of Richard Diebenkorn, but greatly from Scottish artist Barbara Rae, whose ‘intense colour bursts that evoke dramatic landscapes but remain resolutely abstract' [RA Magazine, 2014], much in the same character of Young's works exhibited in this collection.
