BIOGRAPHY
Patrick Hughes' works invite the viewer to experience the relation between the self and the work of art. With their rhythmical shapes and meticulously painted surfaces his witty combinations of painting and sculpture not only illustrate multiple points of view from a three-dimensional perspective, but defy the senses with a dizzying sense of paradoxical motion.
Hughes' signature 'stick-out' paintings begin their life as several trapezoidal or conical board constructions are fused together into pristine wall reliefs. The inherent repetition of each structure sets the tone for its unique theme, which is then rendered with meticulous attention. Much like an architect, Hughes utilizes linear perspective in conveying spatially correct relationships, painting the edges of rectangular shapes to converge on vanishing points, painstakingly rendering the texture gradients of floors and walls and illustrating objects in perspective as diminishing in size from front to back. As enticing as a spider';s web to a moth, Hughes' 'paradoxical on perspective' becomes more complex with every line. His three-dimensional sceneries not only defy the static sense of a painting as frozen in time, but also reverse the apparent sense of perspective, where shapes that seem near are actually receding in space. This effect, referred to as perverspective in Hughes' terms, contradicts the viewer's perceptions by giving the impression that the paintings are moving sideways. While moving our head to look at one of Hughes' works, we experience the eerie sensation of accelerated motion of body extension, which gives was to curious observations whereupon one seems compelled to pace from side to side to accentuate the motion. This perplexing stance is often referred to as the 'Hughes dance.'
Solo Exhibitions
1961 Portal Gallery, London
King Street Gallery, Cambridge
1963 Portal Gallery, London
1965 Hanover Gallery, London
1970 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1971 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1973 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1976 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Jordan Gallery, London
Wills Lane Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
1977 Newlyn Orion Galleries, Newlyn
1978 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
Tom Caldwell Gallery, Dublin
Gallery 39, Manchester
1979 Penwith Galleries, St. Ives, Cornwall
Limited Editions, London
1980 Alberta College of Art, Canada
Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1981 Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, USA
Gallery 39, Manchester
1983 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Bede Gallery, Jarrow
Edward Weston Galleries, New York
Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, USA
Hereford City Art Gallery, Hereford
1985 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Studio Show, London (Watercolours)
1986 Studio Show, London (Watercolours)
Salthouse Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
1988 Angela Flowers Gallery, London
50 Watercolours, Dean Clough Art Gallery, Halifax
1989 Fifteen Years of Prints 1973-1988, Flowers East, London
1990 Flowers East, London
1991 Worthing Museum and Art Gallery
Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Sunderland
Flowers East, London
1992 Beyond the Rainbow, Flowers East, London
1993 Made in Perspective, Flowers East at London Fields, London
The Shadow of War and Other Works, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1994 Vanishing Points, City Art Galleries, Manchester
Retroperspectives, Flowers East at London Fields, London
1995 Belloc Lowndes Fine Art, Chicago
1996 Superspectives, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Patrick Hughes at Susan Kasen Summers, New York
1997 Deutsche Museum, Munich, Germany
Lexus Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Studio Show, London
Reverspective, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Patrick Hughes Multiples, Belloc Lowndes, Chicago
1998 Perspectivity, Flowers West, Santa Monica, California
Perverspective, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
1999 The Movies, Flowers West, Santa Monica, California
Deeperspective, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Susan Duval Gallery, Aspen
2000 Louis K Meisel, New York
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
Multiple Perspectives, Belloc Lowndes Fine Art, Chicago
Improperspective, Flowers West, Santa Monica
Reverse Perspectives, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto
2001 Properspective, Flowers East, London
Park Ryu Sook Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Flowers Central, London
Louis K.Meisel, New York
Hyperspective, Flowers West, Santa Monica
2002 Flowers East at London Fields, London
Riperspective, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Birmingham
Belloc Lowndes Fine Art, Chicago
2003 Whopperspective, Flowers East, London
Certain Realities, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Percepspective, Artower, Athens
Experspective, Flowers West, Santa Monica
Park Ryu Sook Gallery, Korea
Jo Hyun Gallery, Korea
2004 Doors Etc, Flowers New York
Art Chicago, Chicago
Galerie Vieleers, Amsterdam
Midland Center for the Arts, Michigan
Pam Smart Gallery, Aspen, Colorado
Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York
Flowers Central, London
2005 Reverspective, Dennos Museum Center, Traverse City, Michigan
Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh
Keller & Green Gallery, Los Angeles
Impossible, Flowers East, London
Perplexspective, Flowers New York
2006 Shaperspective, Scott Richards Contemporary Art, San Francisco
Permanentspective, Flowers East, London
2011 Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
Group Exhibitions
1961 John Moores, Liverpool
1962 Critics Choice, Tooth's Gallery, London
New Approaches to the Figure, Arthur Jeffries, London
Drawing Towards Painting, Arts Council
1963 John Moores, Liverpool
1965 Premio Lissone, Milan
1967 Exeter Festival of Surrealism
1968 Apollinaire Show, ICA, London
1969 Play Orbit, ICA, London
John Moores, Liverpool
1970 Ten Sitting Rooms, ICA, London
Lane Gallery, Bradford
1971 Postcards, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1972 John Moores, Liverpool
1973 Drawing Biennale, Middlesborough
Angela Flowers 10, Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh
Earnshaw and Hughes, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
1974 Bradford Print Biennale
British Painting, Hayward Gallery, London
Small Paintings, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1975 Chichester Open Exhibition
Drawing Biennale, Middlesborough
Dada after Dada, JPL Fine Arts, London
Envelopes, JPL Fine Arts, London
Collage, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1976 5th International Print Biennale, Bradford
An Octet from Angela Flowers, Gulbenkian Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Doors, Camden Arts Centre, London
Small is Beautiful Part II, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
The Deck of Cards, JPL Fine Arts, London
Dartist, Newlyn Orion Galleries, Newlyn, Cornwall
Prints and Other Things, Wills Lane Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
1977 Third International Drawing Biennale, Middlesborough
Westward TV Open Competition, Truro
Miniatures, Coracle Press, London
Tolly Cobbold/Eastern Arts, Cambridge
Crown Art Exhibition, Reed House, London
South West Artists, Artists Market, London
To The Lighthouse, Wills Lane Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
British Artists Prints 1972-1977, Scandinavia
1978 The Transformation Review, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Surrealism Unlimited, Camden Arts Centre, London
Foundlings, Coracle Press, London
Coriander Studio Prints, Curwen Gallery, London
John Moores, Liverpool
Coriander Studio Prints, Jordan Gallery, London
Metamorphoses, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge
1979 Mixed Graphics, Aberbach Fine Art, London
6th International Print Biennale, Bradford
Flowers, Francis Kyle Gallery, London
Tolly/Cobbold Eastern Arts, 2nd National Exhibition
Contemporary Art for Charterhouse Street, London
14 Artists' Portfolios, Graffiti, London
Cleveland Drawing Biennale
5th Westward TV Open Art Competition
A Cold Wind Brushing the Temple, Arts Council of Great Britain
The British Art Show, Arts Council of Great Britain
1981 5th Cleveland Drawing Biennale
Badges, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1982 Twelve by Twelve, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery
Snow, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Coriander Studio, Thumb Gallery, London
Interiors, Curwen Gallery, London
1983 6th International Biennale of Humour and Satire, Gabrova, Bulgaria
Images for Today, Brighton Polytechnic
Small is Beautiful Part III, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
1984 Trapping the Elusive, Gardner Arts Centre, University of Sussex and touring
The Monoprint Show, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
In The Spirit of Surrealism, Bradbury & Birch, London
1985 Big Paintings, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
A View from my Window, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
5th Tolly Cobbold/Eastern Arts, Cambridge
1986 Contrariwise, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
Flower Show, Stoke on Trent Museum and touring
Sixteen Artists: Sixteen Years, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Humour in Art, Cleveland Art Gallery
Surrealist Revelation, James Birch Gallery, London
1987 Drawings Summer '87 - Angela Flowers Gallery, London
On a Plate, Serpentine Gallery, London
Southampton General Hospital - Art Project
Small is Beautiful Part IV: Landscape, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Sixteen Artists, Process and Product, Turnpike Gallery, Leigh
1988 Surrealism is Dead: Long Live Surrealism, Crawshaw Gallery, London
Contemporary Portraits, Flowers East, London
Small is Beautiful Part VI, Flowers East, London
Freedom: A Celebration of Artists and Illustrators, Flowers East, London
Les Coleman and Patrick Hughes, Dean Clough Gallery, Halifax
1989 Big Paintings, Flowers East, London
Angela Flowers (Ireland) Inc., Co.Cork, Ireland
Art LA '89, Los Angeles
The Advent Calendar, Gallery North, Kirby Lonsdale
Drawn to Humour, Cleveland Gallery
A Tribute to Cubism, Blackman Harvey, London
Tricks and Transformations, City Museum and Art Gallery, Hanley
1990 Angela Flowers Gallery 1990, Barbican Concourse Gallery, London
A Permanent State of Lucidity, John Bonham Murray Feely Fine Art, London
Badge Art Two, Flowers East, London
Rainforest Festival Art Auction, Bonhams, London
Art 21'90 Basel, Switzerland
Cubism, Blackman Harvey, London
1991 Small is Beautiful Part VIII, Flowers East, London
Funny Looking, Liege, Belgium
Flowers East at Watermans, Watermans Art Centre, London
The Large Print Show, Jill George Gallery, London
1992 Artist's Choice, Flowers East, London
The Downeen Collection, Crawford Gallery, Cork
Brittle Winds, John Bonham Murray Feely Fine Art, London
British Art comes to St Helena, St Helena
1993 But Big is Better, Flowers East, London
New Work, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Small is Beautiful Part XI: Homages, Flowers East, London
1994 After Redoute, Flowers East, London
The Downeen Decade, Angela Flowers Gallery (Ireland) Inc., Co Cork, Ireland
Small is Beautiful Part XII: Night and Day, Flowers East at London Fields, London
1995 Patrick Hughes and Alison Watt at Riverside Studios, London
The Twenty Fifth Anniversary Exhibition, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Flowers at Koplin, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles
Small is Beautiful Part XIII: Food and Drink, Flowers East, London
1996 Angela Flowers (Ireland) Inc., Co. Cork, Ireland
Patrick Hughes and Jeffery Edwards at the Riverside Studios, London
Small is Beautiful Part XIV: Sex, Flowers East at London Fields, London
The Print Show, Flowers Graphics, London
Belloc Lowndes Fine Art, Chicago
1997 Angela Flowers Gallery 1997, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Angela Flowers (Ireland) Inc., Co. Cork, Ireland
Print, Riverside Studios, London
Small is Beautiful Part XV: Death, Flowers East at London Fields, London
Belloc Lowndes Fine Art, Chicago
1998 Susan Duval Gallery, Aspen
Rene Magritte and Contemporary Art, Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Ostend
Small is Beautiful, Part XVI:Music, Flowers East, London
1999 Surrealism: Two Private Eyes, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York
Perspective, Kunsthalle Budapest, Hungary
Extrasensory Museum, commemorating the birth of MC Escher, Fukuoka, Tokyo & Nagasaki, Japan
Louis K. Meisel, New York
Small is Beautiful Part XVII: Millennium, Flowers East at London Fields, London
2000 OdaPark, Venray, Netherlands
Angela Flowers Gallery 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Flowers East, London
Le Collège à la Collégiale, Collégiale Saint-André, Chartres
Ubu in UK, Mayor Gallery, London
Landscape, Mira Godard Gallery, Toronto
Small is Beautiful Part XVIII: Self-Portrait, Flowers East at London Fields, London
2001 Near and Far, Louis K Meisel, New York
British Art Show, British Consulate, New York
2002 Head On: Art with the Brain in Mind, Science Museum, London
2003 Post Industrial Landscape, Czech Museum of Fine Art, Prague
2004 Six Real Painters, Flowers Central, London
Genialmente, l'arte e Cervello, Science Area Park, Trieste
2005 35th Anniversary Exhibition, Angela Flowers Gallery, London
Genialmente, l'arte e Cervello, Science Area Park, Trieste
Small is Beautiful 2005, Flowers East, London