Gary Hume

Gary Hume’s minimally figurative pictures are rendered in an exhilarating array of unexpected hues and clever textures.

One of London’s most compelling artists, Hume graduated from Goldsmith’s College and rose to prominence in the early 1990’s. Along with Damien Hirst, he was included in the infamous “Sensation” show at the Royal Academy in 1997 featuring Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection. Since that time, he has represented Great Britain at both the Sao Paulo and Venice Biennales and was nominated for The Tate Modern’s prestigious Turner Prize.

His creative process begins with a familiar image “a photo of a popular celebrity, flowers, whatever strikes his fancy” and without really distorting the picture he alters the image in such a way that the subject seems to vibrate in and out of our consciousness. The colorful, pop culture, dancing silhouette iPod commercials are directly inspired by Hume’s work and comparisons are often made to Andy Warhol’s iconographic portraits. Hume’s pop iconography, however, is lifeless but never dull, reflective, and synthetic - realism disguised in high gloss designer chic.