Paul Critchley Biography-Oil Painting Artist:

After leaving college in 1982 Paul Critchley has exhibited internationally in 26 individual shows, 8 two-man shows, 46 art fairs and in over 160 group shows. He left Britain in 1985 for adventure and inspiration - and to avoid falling into the circle of school-college-school, he has since lived in West Berlin, France, Italy, Holland, Spain, the USA and even in Moscow, painting throughout. He is now living and painting in the central Italian region of Abruzzo.

For more than half his life he has lived amongst people whose language is not his own - this self imposed isolation could be a reason why his paintings have a certain quirkiness! - but painting, like music, does not need a translator. His surroundings have always inspired his work whether the dark, brooding Soviet atmosphere in his Russian series; the Hitchcock like unease of interiors with subtle lighting, muted colours and distorted perspectives; the fascination with the mediterranean light which etches the eyes with it’s brightness. Paul Critchley’s paintings of interiors have evolved to include themes of windows and doors which open and close: triptychs and diptychs. Sculptural paintings which invade the space before them by either folding into or wrapping around corners, by being painted on the floor as well as the wall, and in separate pieces. We see everything but we only look at what attracts our attention so with his separate piece paintings he brings our attention to just those points needed to convey the purpose of the painting.

Over the last five years Paul Critchley has been creating paintings for an installation which is formed from the contents of a house; sofas, toilet, bed, windows etc. Individual pieces which when seen together form one whole composition: one composition comprised of separate pieces; the space between them is the wall.

Paul Critchley's Idea:

"Some artists change their subjects and alter their styles frequently depending on the problems provoked by them. This can be very exciting as one never quite knows what is coming next but on the other hand it can also be limiting as one is always waiting for a definitive statement. When I began painting I too did many different pictures but gradually I have reduced my subject matter to describing interiors and exteriors by using multiple view point

The shape is an integral part of the painting and as such is not chosen in any arbitrary manner: it is the subject of the painting which decides the shape. For example, a painting of the corner of a house does not have to remain on a two dimensional plane but can itself be a corner: a three dimensional painting. However this logic does not mean I am seeking to reproduce exactly a particular scene - a photograph can do that - but rather the feelings and colours suggested to me at first sight and so I remove what I consider to be superfluous. At times this can result in paintings with separate pieces, such as “The Big White House”, as I concentrate on the interesting features and disregard the intervening and less interesting areas. In contrast, on other occasions I introduce extra elements to help create a mood or to give a story to the painting."

Edited by Kevin from Xiamen Romandy Art Limited.
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