Andy Rhodes

Andy Rhodes presents an optimistic vision of an oblivious future, devoid of human presence, both in subject and on an emotional platform. These are places and vistas that were once occupied but now are not, a visual utopia not for the future of humanity but solely for the beauty of the landscape. This odd juxtaposition of visual optimism v’s non-existence is a refreshing and thought provoking approach to painting.

[andyrhodes]

Remote

Oil on Canvas

2014

100 x 100 cm

  This painting is part of a series of works based on perceptions of reality and how certain motifs and memories always hold more resonance remaining clearer in the mind, depending on individual perception of reality. Remote came from at connection I made in my head between when thinking about some found images I had saved from the internet some found images that I was inand viewing the Henry Bright St Benet’s Abbey painting in the Castle Museum Norwich. This painting features large thunder clouds in an open landscape with light reflecting on one side of the abbey which creates a certain atmosphere, it was this that I wanted to replicate with these images of strange old futuristic looking buildings, a once utopian home that is now abandoned and derelict. The windmill and abbey depicted in Bright’s painting also has aura of an uncertain future about it.

[andyrhodes]

Cosmic Dawn

Oil on Canvas

2014

100 x 100 cm

  This painting is part of a series of works based on perceptions of reality and how certain motifs and memories always hold more resonance remaining clearer in the mind, depending on individual perception of reality. This painting was created from an amalgamation of an image from a National Geographic article I was reading inside the studio on the ALMA radio telescopes, and the building outside of the studio, sovereignty house, which has featured in many of my paintings. For some reason the juxtaposition of these two motifs fused themselves together in my mind and the composition for this painting was created.

[andyrhodes]

Vertigo

Oil on Canvas

2014

100 x 100 cm

  This painting is part of a series of works based on perceptions of reality and how certain motifs and memories always hold more resonance remaining clearer in the mind, depending on individual perception of reality. In Vertigo, I have taken the City Hall building, Norwich, and rearranged its structural elements to match the reoccurring scene of the church tower in the Alfred Hitchcock Film of the same name. With the juxtaposition of the two I am eliding the boundaries of the real and the unreal, creating a slippage between the familiar and the unfamiliar while fusing the two into a new but believable composition that also relates to my own individual perception of reality.

[andyrhodes]

Clash of the Titans

Oil on Canvas

2014

100 x 100 cm

  This painting is part of a series of works based on perceptions of reality and how certain motifs and memories always hold more resonance remaining clearer in the mind, depending on individual perception of reality. Whilst watching the 1981 film Clash of the Titans I was interested by the reoccurring scene of the city of Joppa. I thought that some of its visual elements reminded me of scenes from Norwich. I was interested in replicating this scene with these elements from Norwich to see if the connection could be made between the two and to see if the feeling of the uncanny could be provoked with the use familiar and the unfamiliar, reality and fantasy, depending on which it is that you recognise, place or screen.

[andyrhodes]

Megalomania

Oil on Canvas

2014

74 x 74 cm

  Megalomania is an experimental piece that directly relates to the processes used in previous paintings Dead Souls and Dreambender. The title of this painting references a Rene Magritte painting, which also features cubes within his sky formations, and the 1991 computer game.

[andyrhodes]

24 Hour Party People

Oil on Canvas

2014

79 x 120 cm

  This is an experimental piece using optical illusions to fragment the scene. Basically I wanted to see if the effect of movement created in optical illusions could be recreated within a painting. “The distinguished electro-neurologist Semir Zeki believes that these patterns directly stimulate regions of the brain in cortical area V5, to produce sensations of movement even though there is no movement in the stimuli.” (Gregory,2009:139) So by trying to replicate an optical illusion within the cloud formation I create in my skies perhaps I could create a painting that moves. “It is significant that for the jazzing effect the particular shapes do not matter; what matters is the repeated, close-together high contrast lines” (Gregory,2009:140)

  Gregory, R. (2009) Seeing Through Illusions. Oxford University Press

[andyrhodes]

Harvest Moon

Oil on Canvas

2014

100 x 100 cm

  This piece was created for entry into the Bishops Prize 2014, in which the theme was the season of the spirit. Using the fruits of the spirit as a starting point, I began thinking about autumn being the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness as well as being the season of harvest.

Using this as a base I collected imagery which not only represented this, but also my own way of working, as well as referencing the paintings of Samuel Palmer, who depicted this season so successfully.

[andyrhodes]

Deja Vu

Oil on Canvas

2014

100 x 100 cm

[andyrhodes]

Dead Souls Oil on Canvas 2013/14 105 x 140 cm In this series of three paintings I am individually exploring the three genres of landscapes I am involved with, the city, the natural and the metaphysical. The sole aim for this series was to not only continue the exploration of techniques that enable the deconstruction of imagery through a process of fragmentation and manipulation, but essentially to experiment using these processes on any genre of image in order to help me to push the deconstruction techniques further. The idea with Dead Souls was to try and deconstruct the image through a process of painting different areas in different styles, something experimented with in previous paintings, but instead of using architecture as a reference point for the fragmentation I wanted to try a simple optical illusion.

[andyrhodes]

Twenty Four Hours

Oil on Canvas

2013

105 x 140 cm

  In this series of three paintings I am individually exploring the three genres of landscapes I am involved with, the city, the natural and the metaphysical. The sole aim for this series was to not only continue the exploration of techniques that enable the deconstruction of imagery through a process of fragmentation and manipulation, but essentially to experiment using these processes on any genre of image in order to help me to push the deconstruction techniques further. Although these paintings derive from completely different sources I find that I can still make connections between them. The important factor within Twenty Four Hours was the iconic nature of the source material, if the deconstruction is successful then origin and connotation of this, at least at first, would be masked be the alternate view created within the surface of the canvas.

[andyrhodes]

American Skies

Oil on Canvas

2013

70 x 100 cm

    This painting is part of a series of works that relate to each other but also can stand alone.  The major breakthrough with this piece came when reflecting on an unintentional effect that had been created during the painting process. This painting encompasses the fragmentation and deconstruction of imagery I have been working on throughout this series and want to take forward into new work.

[andyrhodes]

Regret

Oil on Canvas

2013

70 x 100 cm

    This painting is part of a series of works that relate to each other but also can stand alone.  With this painting as I was working directly from a 35mm slide there was no possibility for manipulation of the image before the painting process yet I was still interested in doing so to create tension within the surface of the canvas. I attempted to do this with the fragmentation of detail within the focal planes of the image and the importance of capturing and enhancing the luminosity of the scene.

[andyrhodes]

Dreambender

Oil on Canvas

2013

70 x 100 cm

    This painting is part of a series of works that relate to each other but also can stand alone.  I wanted to mask off certain areas mid-way through the painting process in order to create tension within the painted surface, the masked areas relate back to the window frames of Sovereignty house depicted in previous work.

[andyrhodes]

Lenses

Oil on Canvas

2013

70 x 100 cm

    This painting is part of a series of works that relate to each other but also can stand alone. As I worked on all four paintings simultaneously the various ideas and techniques used for each painting fed into one another helping with the progression of the paintings as well as linking the work in series.

[andyrhodes]

Obstacle Two

Oil on Canvas

2013

76.2 x 76.2 cm

    I began this painting with the intention of using purely an addition of detail in order to suggest certain connotations, but ended up adapting it in response to the successes of Obstacle One.

[andyrhodes]

Obstacle One

Oil on Canvas

2013

76.2 x 76.2 cm

    The main thought process behind this painting was purely an addition and subtraction of detail in certain areas in order to create a landscape that is in a permanent state of flux and transition.

[andyrhodes]

Futureworld

Oil on Canvas

2013

61 x 76.2 cm

    With this painting my intention was to work relatively closely to the original imagery, yet at the same time imagine how the building would have looked when it was first erected. Playing with the idea that this is now an unwanted ‘eyesore’ building, but instead of depicting it in that way, make it look new, fresh and exciting. A vision of the future taken from a relic of the past.