Richard Wathen

Adrian Sutton Gallery is delighted to present in their Brussels Open Series Presentations new works by British artist Richard Wathen (b.1971).

Richard Wathen’s paintings depict figures lost in moments of contemplation, daydreamers of uncertain age or gender consumed by their thoughts. Recent works have placed a greater emphasis on the painting process, welcoming accidents and the making itself to inform the direction a work takes. Wathen said “I want the works to offer a more open and less complete reading for the viewer”.

In ‘Pappus’ the figure holds a dandelion perhaps alluding to fragility or the ephemeral. The gaze looks beyond us, transfixed, bathed in viridian, possibly considering the incommunicable sensations of being alive.

Wathen has been making watercolours alongside the oil paintings for the last five years. ‘Reflection 1’ has been made for this exhibition: are we looking at a figure in a mirror? The image is barely there, the image as delicate as the medium.