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Statement

Richard’s artistic practice encompasses painting, drawing, writing and music whilst also learning how these things can support people to be together. He creates paintings that push at the edges of figuration, creating work that is bright, fluid and embraces imperfection, mirroring qualities in the world he wants to see himself. Featuring both real and imagined individuals as subjects he uses these to explore how our interactions with each other can reveal questions about how the world is structured.

Arriving at painting not through formal education but through many years playing in D.I.Y. bands and working within learning disability arts as creative support, these experiences profoundly influence the way Richard approaches making and thinking about art.

His current body of work looks at shadows, the traces outside of ourselves that can indicate what or who something is. Carving shadow-figures out of charcoal into the canvas and placing them into bright, rhythmic, colourful spaces as a way of ‘making friends’. The work is looking at finding joy in these shadows and at ideas that run through much of Richard’s work around support and connection.

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Recent projects include collaboration with Angkasa Nasrullah Emir and Tab Space, facilitated by Art Et Al (exhibition in Indonesia, Sept 2024), ‘The Spinners’ solo exhibition at Flatland Projects (2023), Exeter Contemporary Open (Prizewinner, 2023), John Moore’s Painting Prize (2023). The full length work of non-fiction ‘Do Your Own Thing’ (2023) and the pamphlet ‘D.I.Y. as Privilege: A Manifesto’ (2020) published by Rough Trade Books. An artist-in-residence within Tate’s Schools and Teachers department, alumni of Conditions Studio Programme in Croydon and Flatlands Studio Programme in Bexhill-on-Sea.

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CV

Born 1981
Lives in Hastings, works in London and the South Coast

2015 – present - Associate Artist, Heart n Soul, London
2022 - 2023 - Flatlands Early Career Studio Programme
2018 – 2021 - Conditions Studio Programme

Exhibitions

2024 - Peer to Peer: Capturing Surroundings - Wanigrupa Gallery, Bandung, Indonesia
2023 - The Spinners - Flatlands Projects, Bexhill-on-Sea
2022 - My burger is about fair and equal - Colden’s, St Leonard’s-on-Sea
2022 - Helping Hands - Sanford Vitrine, London
2021 – RIDE - Big Rat Studios, Hastings
2021 – Zoomin’ - with Robin Smith - Skelf, Online
2021 – The Drum Also - Conditions project space, London

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 - Fair Ground - Glyndebourne, Lewes
2023 - John Moores Painting Prize - Walker Gallery, Liverpool
2023 - Exeter Contemporary Open, Phoenix Gallery, Exeter
2023 - Baggage Claim - Staffordshire St, London
2021 - CONDITIONS End Of Year show - London
2020 - The Potion Room - Subsidiary Projects, London
2019 - CONDITIONS End Of Year show - London
2019 - Tube Lines - Tate Exchange, London
2019 - Satellite Studio - V&A Museum, London
2019 - In a Small Room, Very Loudly - Conditions, London

Awards / Residencies

2023 - Prize winner, Exeter Contemporary Open
2022 - 2023 - Artist in Residence at Turing School in association with Towner Gallery and the Turner Prize
2019 - 2020 Tate Modern, Artist in Residence, Schools and Teachers department
2019 - Fusion Fund award, Help Musicians UK

Publications / Presentations

2023 - Do Your Own Thing - Rough Trade Books (print)
2021 - DIY as Privilege: 13 point manifesto for musicians - in Media Studies Reader (Third Edition), Routledge (print)
2021 - Guest Lecture, London College of Communication
2021 - Guest Lecture, Goldsmiths College
2021 - 21 in Underpinned by the Movements of Freighters edited by Joe Moss (print)
2020 - DIY as Privilege - A Manifesto - Rough Trade Books (print)
2020 - Critical Pedagogy in Contested Space - Tate, Speaker
2019 - How Far We Can Go - Conference, Hong Kong - Speaker
2019 - MUSOC Conference, York St John University - Speaker
2018 - DIY as Privilege: 13 point manifesto for musicians - Goldsmiths Fringe and Underground Music Group (print)
2016 - Astigmatism: Sight Paintings - Makina Books - Solo catalogue of paintings (print)

Richard Phoenix

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