Artists & Illustrators - UK (2019-11)

Aheadofatwo-manshow,the

landscapepaintersopenupto

MARTHAALEXANDER about

everythingtheyhaveincommon–

andeverythingtheydon’t

OPPOSITEPAGE

BenjaminHope,

SenateHouse

Passage#1,oilon

panel,38x25cm

ABOVEAndrew

Roberts,Like

A ShitBack-Up

Singer,oilon

canvas,20x20cm

LEFTAndrew

Roberts,The

LightsGoOut

WithoutYou,oilon

canvas,20x20cm

C

omparison,theysay,is thethiefofjoy.Butnot

sofortwopainterswhosesimilaritiesand

differenceswillhangside-by-sideintheformof

a two-manshow.BenjaminHopeandAndrewRoberts,

bothlandscapeartistswhoworkwithoilpaint,realised

thepotentialfora successfuljointexhibitionwhenthey

werepartofa muchlargergroupshowlastyear.

Theforthcomingexhibition,CommonGroundin

London’sGalleryDifferent,willfeaturearound 70 paintings

ofplacesfromallovertheworld,includingLondon,

Cornwall,Spain,andCanada.However,whenaskedwhat

elsepeoplecanexpectfromtheexhibition,Andrewis

mysterious.“I don’treallyknowwhatit’llbelike,myself,”

hesays.“That’swhyI’mdoingtheshow:I wanttosee

whatit’lllooklike.”

“Webothusecolourina punchywaytoaccentuateand

injectanelementofdrama,”hecontinues,notingthatthe

similaritiesarenotwhatmakestheirdynamicinteresting.

“Itis inthedifferencesthatourownvoicesareseen,the

differingwaysthatwecreateart.”

TheSussex-basedartist’sworkis allrichimpasto

surfaces,dynamicglazingtechniquesandromantic,

opulentpalettes.Hepaintswide-openspacesinhis

studio,basedonthememoryofa placehehasvisited,

abstractingtheshapesasheworks.Theseworkshave

featuredintheINGDiscerningEye,theRoyalAcademy

SummerExhibitionanda stringofsoloandgroupshows.

Bycontrast,Benjamin’spreferredsubjectmatterare

built-up,chaoticcityscapes,ofteninhisnativeLondon.

HewonfirstprizeatthePintarRapidoplein-aircompetition

in2014,andwaselectedtoboththeNewEnglishArtClub

andthePastelSocietylastyear. Hismark-makingis deft

andinstinctive,andheis moreinclinedtocapturedetail,

totheextentthatonefeelsthattheyarerightthere,

surroundedbythepainting,ratherthansimplylookingatit.

Despitesuchopposingapproachestoapplyingthe

paint,theybothsharethesameloveofoneparticular

product:Lukas’sPaintingMedium5,alsoknownas

TALKINGTECHNIQUES

andrew roberts

& benjamin hope

Artists & Illustrators 31