Richard Kenton Webb | Wreck

Artist Statement

For Richard Kenton Webb, drawing, painting, and printmaking are at the heart of his practice. He believes that painting is an intrinsic human language and will never disappear. For centuries, the artist’s imagination and the alchemy of materials have fused to create truly remarkable works. Words can fail us, but by engaging with materials, an artist can translate his or her inner world into a composition. The materials and our imaginations can fuse into visual poetry, communicating a hidden realm. In this respect, the artist makes the unseen visible.

Webb’s shortlisted work Wreck discusses what is not necessarily seen and, yet, has been experienced. Two years ago, the artist thought he would lose everything. In particular, he was told by someone who had power over his life that his philosophy as an artist and educator was entirely invalid. He made Wreck during a time of intense oppression. Painting enabled him to express what was happening and make sense of his situation. While his work sustained him through a period of deep distress, it now has a life and purpose of its own.

Of his work, Webb remarked, ‘Why does the world seem out of control? I hope to expose the abuse of power and the underlying causes of some of the problems that we face globally. I hold up a mirror to open a conversation about what drives our behaviour and the values that lie behind our day-to-day decisions and actions.’ 

Wreck is a conversation about how people can use their power to damage others. Ultimately, this painting is about integrity, dignity, and hope. Is the boat sinking, or has it just run aground? How does the viewer read this picture – as a victim or as a victor? According to Webb, Wreck is about hope because the boat has only run aground. He tells himself that this psychological and emotional abuse must not destroy him. At high tide, the boat will float away safely. This painting is also part of a large body of work inspired by John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost.

Artist CV

Education

1983-86: Royal College of Art, London, MA (Painting)

1978-82: Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, BA Hons (Fine Art)

1977-78: Chelsea School of Art, London, Foundation

Group Exhibitions – selection

2019

Seer: European Painting and Drawing, Galleria Punto, Sokei Academy of Fine Art & Design, Tokyo, Japan

Emergence: Art and the Incarnation of Space, Martin Museum of Art, Baylor, Texas, USA

2018

Tao Hua Tan Painters, Hefei Modern Art, Hefei, Anhui Province, China

2017

Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue? Kunstzaal, Onderder Toren, Hasselt, Belgium

Nine Painters, curated by Dr Richard Davey, Syson Gallery, Nottingham

2016

John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

2015                

Tokyo International Mini-Print Triennial, touring Japan

2014

The LARQ Effect, Gallery Ten, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

2013

Annual Open, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol

The Language of Paint, two-person show with Iain Andrews, Atkinson Gallery, Millfield School, Somerset

2012

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London

BITE: Artists Making Prints, Mall Galleries, London

The Open West, Gloucester Cathedral

2011

Royal West of England Autumn Show, Bristol

Insights – British Art Today, Museum Oberműnster, Ratisbon, Regensburg

The Nature of Landscape III, Surface Gallery, Nottingham

Solo Exhibitions – selection

2015

Landscape is a Conversation, LARQ Gallery, Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia

2014

Still Life with Blackbirds, Corinium Museum, Cirencester

Thoughts in Search of a Thinker, LARQ Gallery, Queenstown, Tasmania, Australia

New Work, Celia Lendis Contemporary, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire

2011

Orangeness, Abbey Walk Gallery, Grimsby

2000

The Colour of God, North Light Gallery, Huddersfield

1999

SACI Gallery, Florence, Italy

1994

Benjamin Rhodes Gallery, London

1992

Benjamin Rhodes Gallery, London

1989

Benjamin Rhodes Gallery, London

1987

Benjamin Rhodes Gallery, London                                 

Collections

Arthur Anderson and Co, London

Stanhope Properties PLC, London

Unilever, London

Norkem, Knutsford

Museum Oberműnster, Regensburg, Germany

Publications

Webb, R. and J. Reardon, ‘Still Life with Blackbirds’, 2016

Webb, R., ‘Drawing as a Way of Thinking’, Richard Kenton Webb: The Landscape as Discourse, 2015

Davey, R., ‘Richard Kenton Webb’, Emergence: Art and the Incarnation of Space, 2019

Davey, R., ‘Richard Kenton Webb’, John Moores Painting Prize, 2016

Davey, R., ‘Figuring Light: Colour and the Intangible’, Colour Conversations, 2010

‘Peter Fuller’s Modern Painters’, Reflections on Modern Art, 1993