Artist Spotlight: Patrick Hughes
Patrick Hughes is a British artist, celebrated for his creation of reverspective paintings where he produced optical illusions by reinventing traditional art making techniques. Unlike traditional paintings that appear two-dimensional, Hughes' reverspective paintings create an illusion of three-dimensional space that seems to shift and change as the viewer moves around them.
“When the principles of perspective are reversed and solidified into sculpted paintings something extraordinary happens; the mind is deceived into believing the impossible, that a static painting can move of its own accord.” - Patrick Hughes
Born in Birmingham in October 1939, Hughes is the eldest son in his family. As a family they moved around, later settling in Hull. As a child, Hughes found solace in books and his imagination. Hughes recalls finding fascination in his art teacher’s use of perspective and shadows within school plays.
After finishing school, Hughes went on to study English Literature at the Leeds Day Training College. However, he was later referred to the Art Department after his teacher thought he would be more suited to this area. The Art Department encouraged Hughes to submit his work to the Portal Gallery, later resulting in his first solo exhibition in London in 1961. This exhibition was considered the first show by a ‘Pop Art’ artist and quickly became a huge success.
David Sylvester, a critic of the exhibition spoke endearingly of Patrick Hughes:
“This artist has the gift, synonymous with creativeness, of being able to be surprised by what the rest of us take for granted. Here is a painter who really has something to say, and his arrival on the scene gives me a rare sense of exhilaration.”
In the 1970s, whilst living in Chelsea and later Ladbroke Grove, Patrick Hughes started painting rainbows. Hughes’ iconic rainbow paintings have become increasingly popular, selling over 1,000,000 rainbow postcards and 10,000 screenprints over the years. These incredible prints are available to buy at Bridgeman Editions today. One of the prints, 'A Chorus Line,' is an exclusive limited edition available for purchase for a limited time exclusively through Bridgeman Editions.
Over the years, his innovative approach to art has gained him international recognition and his works can be found in galleries and collections worldwide. Hughes’ work is currently exhibited at collections of the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as within galleries in Berlin, Portugal and the US.
To find out more about Patrick Hughes’ collection, click here