Jeremy Houghton's Motion Pictures
The artist's paintings evoke moments of action with a shimmering interplay between light and color
LET IT ALL HANG OUT
Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 inches
jeremyhoughton.co.uk, diehlgallery.com
THE ARTIST Jeremy Houghton
KNOWN FOR Paintings that evoke fleeting moments of action with a shimmering interplay between light and color.
STEEPED IN ART “I live and work in the house where I was born, in Broadway, in the Cotswolds, UK. It’s a village steeped in art history—John Singer Sargent, William Morris, Henry James, the Pre-Raphaelites (amongst others) all lived and worked here, so it’s a very inspiring landscape.”
SPACE STUDIES “To paint movement you must understand space. I use birds in flight—the flamingo, after six years living in Africa—as my way of exploring spatial shapes. With birds in flight I have enough dynamic shapes for a lifetime’s worth of painting.”
THE IN-BETWEEN “Even when I was a child, I never painted the positive form; I always painted the negative space to create the ‘object.’ The Eastern consciousness of place acknowledges and respects the concept of space, pause or interval with the word ‘ma.’ This could be between musical notes, brush strokes or even footsteps. It is when the silence can be heard. The word ‘liminal’ is important to me. It’s that in-between space or state. In my paintings it’s where the shapes or colors connect. I hope the liminal spaces in my paintings allow the viewer to be very mindful and present.”
THE POWER OF COLOR “I try to find color combinations which have a certain chemistry. Some colors literally shimmer when placed side by side, so when the edges of my shapes start to feel electric I know I’m onto something.”
NEXT “I have been asked to be artist-in-residence for the Scouts’ centenary next year. They have 55 million members worldwide, and they want me to tell their story in 100 pictures.”
