Ray Richardson, Our Side of the Water (2012). Oil on linen© Courtesy Beaux Arts, London / Ray Richardson
Writing in the catalogue for this dynasty of pithy portraits, Jack Auerbach suggests Ray Richardson - a purveyor of a “proud and pugnacious” London with “big skies and secret deals” – could claim membership of an esteemed lineage.
AKA Irish Frank (2012). Oil on linen© Courtesy Beaux Arts, London / Ray Richardson
“Ray Richardson is part of that same tradition, and his images have glamour too, casting their glow on ordinary people and recognisable types.”
There is something cinematic and poetic in the artist’s paintings.
The men who heel dogs in front of puddle-strewn industrial buildings possess an air of menace, but the city streets are unglamorous, populated by grills and dilapidated streetlamps, imposing figures in doorways or wistful views across rivers over bridges.
“He can be seen as London’s Edward Hopper, revealing the beauty in London’s seemingly ordinary faces and spaces,” adds Auerbach.
“His paintings burn with a fierce nostalgia for the here and now.”
- Beaux Arts, Cork Street, London. Open 10am-5.30pm (11am-2pm Saturday, closed Sunday). Admission free. Follow Ray Richardson on Twitter.
More pictures:
London's Topdog (2011/2012). Oil on linen© Courtesy Beaux Arts, London / Ray Richardson
The Poacher (2012). Oil on linen© Courtesy Beaux Arts, London / Ray Richardson
From the Streets of South East London (2012). Oil on linen© Courtesy Beaux Arts, London / Ray Richardson
Kirk Vidas (2012). Oil on linen© Courtesy Beaux Arts, London / Ray Richardson
