Robert West | The Work
Statement
My work is centered around nature, society and the human condition. It wishes to reassert the relevancy of painting within society and the art market, believing that the language of painting can as Goodman puts it help us in the ‘comprehension and understanding of our worlds’.
As creators, we reflect the society we inhabit. My paintings are defined by their completely abstract manner, this style has evolved becoming more detached from representation as a direct reaction to the cultural and ethical conditions that I find myself. That of a pastiche culture thats main function is to distract us, and of a world that seems to be more comfortable with chaos rather than order and calm. Though within the world 'true culture' does exist and it strives toward the enlivenment of thought and existence, and it is this which helps defines who we are. My work is centred around painting things of significance, and in turn hoping to enlighten viewers into aspects of the human condition.
CV
EDUCATION
2005-2008 Loughborough University School of the Arts. BA Fine Art Painting (Honours)
2004-2005 Hull College School of Arts. BTEC National Diploma Fine Art Painting (Distinction)
TV PROGRAMS
2011 Short-listed for the BBC 2 Art Series Show Me the Monet
CHARITY EVENTS
2011
Bloomsbury Art Fair Silent Auction. Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, London. 13th July
The Jennie & Jessie Gunhammar Lupus Trust Charity Art Auction. Debut Contemporary. Notting Hill, London. 4th May
2011 Many Ogilvy Hands Secret Art Sale. Coley Porter Bell Offices. Notting Hill, London. 6th April
GROUP SHOWS
2011
Debut Contemporary’s ‘London Art Box at Flag Stop’ Los Angeles VIP Press night invite, Event Date: 28th September 2011 , Time: 7 – 9pm
LAB (London Art Box). Flag Stop. Los Angeles. USA. September 2nd-4th
Not Lost Festival. Nottingham. 30th June-23rd July
Persona Art Festival. Rag Factory. Brick Lane, London. 4th-8th May
Look It's Moving, It's Alive Now!. Debut Contemporary. London. 6th April-3rd May
Big Spectacle. Debut Contemporary. Notting Hill, London. 2nd March - 5th April
Spitklapp II. The Pedestrian. Leicester. 2nd-14th February
2010
Spitklapp I. Loughborough University School of Arts. 1st-5th Nov
Summer Salon. Islington Art Factory. London. 25th June - 16th July
How Beautiful Ugliness Is. Red Gate Gallery. London. 28th May - 24th July
Tidy. Vanilla Galleries. Leicester. 28th March - 15th April
A Moving Exhibition. AVA Gallery. University of East London. 8th - 15th March
2009
Orange Sherbet. Loughborough. 24th November - 24th June 2010
Cork Street Open. Gallery 27. Cork Street, London. 6th - 14th August
2008
Extract. Vanilla Galleries. Loughborough. 10th Nov - 23rd Dec
Art Below Tokyo. Shibuya Underground Station. Tokyo. Japan. 25th Aug - 1st Sept
Fine Art Degree Show. Loughborough University School of Arts. 13th - 20th June
ARTIST COLLECTIVE
Vanilla Galleries: www.vanillagallleries.com
REVIEWS
Jotta Magazine. One to Watch. (Ed) Millie Findley
Dazed and Confused. Art Below Tokyo. Tokyo Edition
PUBLICATIONS
Art Now: Re-Imagine | Book of International Emerging Artists 2011
20 x 20 Magazine. Me and Mine. Words/Visions. Issue 4. August 2010
20 x 20 Magazine. The Inevitable. Basic Needs. Issue 5. December 2010