Luke Hannam — Escapism
LUKE HANNAM : ESCAPISM
‘Life’s Uncertain Beneath The Sky’ acrylic on canvas, 122 x 91cm
Introduction
Bold, painterly and never ever tentative; Luke Hannam's work excites, often challenges and certainly does not disappoint.
ESCAPISM is a glorious exhibition by an artist full of confidence. With exhibitions planned in Los Angeles and New York and collectors growing across the globe, Hannam's star is very much in the ascendancy and we are delighted to be holding his 4th solo show in the gallery.
EXHIBITION DATES
10th October – 8th November 2020
Virtual PRIVATE VIEW
Friday 9th October, 7pm. We will be holding an Insta Live event with Luke discussing the new exhibition and key paintings.
Luke Hannam on ESCAPISM
Luke Hannam Writes
‘Escapism’ represents a body of new work created exclusively in lockdown and my response to the strange reality we now call ‘the new normal’.
My studio was closed in early March so I had little choice but to begin working from home. The change from large studio with everything to hand to a domestic situation was a shock to the system at first but it gave rise to one the most creative periods I have ever experienced as an artist.
As the world started to shut down I turned to drawing initially as a means of escape but found myself journeying deeper into my subconscious than ever before. Drawings emerged quickly and I found myself discovering a language even I was surprised by. Landscapes looking like 17th century etchings provided backdrops for illustrative figures; environments would often become layered and dreamlike, and motifs and symbols would come flying in from all around. I could feel my imagination breaking free, the idea of being a painter had started to dissolve and was being slowly replaced with something altogether less fixed and less straightforward. The paintings soon began to emerge - quite small at first. Working at home had its limitations but I was determined to maintain the emotional intensity of the drawings and a sense that I could paint without restriction. That emotional intensity, sometimes veering on sentimentality, became the focus - a deliberate desire for heightened meanings and melodrama. These states of mind can be seen as both simple motifs such as portrait or more complex narratives such as ‘awake in paradise’ but there is always a sense of surreal suspended animation. I hope you enjoy the show.
Luke Hannam, August 2020
Born in 1966, Luke studied Fine Art in the 1980s and while others faithfully chanted the conceptual mantra of the time Luke perfected his drawing skills and drew inspiration from the early 20th century French painters – particularly Henri Matisse and Picasso.
His move to a quiet village in East Sussex afforded the space and time needed to develop his practice - each painting is drawn or indeed wrenched from the bottom of his boots. Whether on a large or small scale every work has an immediacy and punch that is truly inspiring.
EDUCATION
1984 – 1987 Canterbury College of Art
SOLO SHOWS
2020 Escapism at Cameron Contemporary Art
2018 'Figures' new figurative work from the artist studio
2017 'Short Stories' Cameron Contemporary at the Menier Gallery, London
2016 'The Secrets of Nature' at Cameron Contemporary Art
PAST EXHIBITIONS
2019 New York, Hampstead and Battersea Affordable Art Fairs with Cameron Contemporary
2019, Festival, Summer and Winter Exhibitions with Cameron Contemporary Art
2018 New York Affordable Art Fair with Cameron Contemporary
2017 Winter Show at Cameron Contemporary Art
2017 All Square at Cameron Contemporary Art
2017 The Colour of Summer at Cameron Contemporary Art
2017 Affordable Art Fair, Battersea with Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead with Cameron Contemporay Art
2016 Winter Exhibition, Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 Figure, A Cast of Characters, Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 Affordable Art Fair, Bristol with Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 The Colour of Summer, Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 Festival, Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead with Cameron Contemporay Art
2016 Atmospherics, Cameron Contemporary Art
2016 Affordable Art Fair, Battersea with Cameron Contemporary Art
COLLECTIONS
Numerous UK and worldwide private collections