Poppy Sebire
6 Copperfield Street
London
SE1 0EP
United Kingdom
Private view: Thursday 13 September, 6.30 - 8.30pm
Exhibition continues: 14 September - 20 October 2012
For his second solo exhibition with Poppy Sebire, Paul Housley presents new sculptures and paintings that play with the conventions of portraiture and still life.
The recurrent motifs in Housley's work are derived from art historical references and from the objects, both made and found, which sit amongst the detritus of his studio. His appropriation of works by past masters is an act of homage and a challenge, with the artist wilfully playing with the inherent romantic notions of the self-portrait.
The studio acts as a depository for an ever-growing collection of made and found objects, bric-a-brac, books and discarded works. These objects and the physical and mental landscape of the studio itself become an important character in the work. He makes no distinction between the three dimensional and the two dimensional works and often refers to his paintings as objects, seeing their physicality being at least as important as their image qualities.
Housley instinctively erases and reworks his canvases experimenting and distilling his ideas until he reaches something that he refers to as 'believable'. The artist recently stated, 'What I would like to do as a painter is to cleave a face in two and for that face to retain its dignity and integrity'.
Paul Housley was born in Stalybridge UK in 1964. He holds an MA from the Royal College of Art. Recent solo exhibitions include Mudpusher Blues, ZieherSmith, New York (2012), A Yellow Bird at Night, Peter Bergman, Stcokholm (2011), A Maid for Paint, Poppy Sebire, London (2011); Akinci, Amsterdam (2010); Orders from Chaos, Peter Bergman, Stockholm (2009); Some Have Eyes, Wilkinson Gallery, London (2008); Night Painting, Sunday LES, New York (2008) and Heavy Easel, Norwich Gallery, Norwich (2006). Housley has participated in group exhibitions including Keep Floors and Passage Clear, White Columns, New York (2011); She Awoke With a Jerk, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York (2010); Repetition: Paintwork3, Galerie Borchardt, Hamburg (2009); Things We Know, Jessica Bradley Art and Projects, Toronto (2007); Drawing 200. In 2007-8 he completed a residency at London Print Studio and in 2004-5 he was artist in residence at Durham Cathedral.