BIO

Working predominantly in graphite and pastel pencils, Ian’s drawings extend from the figurative through to the abstract. His drawing process often leads to revisiting landscapes, figures and spaces and this reworking of the familiar has allowed Ian’s drawing practice to develop with each new approach, shedding fresh light on his subject matter.

Ian won the Finest Drawing Prize in the UK’s National Open Art Prize in 2013 for his piece ‘Chrysalis’. 

After seeing his work the UK art materials company Derwent asked Ian to be a tester for XL Graphite Blocks during their development stage. Ian’s work was then used for advertising and promotion of the product.

In 2018 the American retail company Macys purchased a collection of Ian’s work to hang in the refurbished menswear department of the San Francisco store. A further collection was purchased and then a licence paid to reprint the work for rolling out in stores across the U.S.A

An art graduate with a first class honours degree from the Bradford College of Art, Ian made his home in Brighton where he lived and worked from 2000 until 2020, when he returned to his northern roots in Yorkshire. Now ensconced in a purpose built studio (The Hodgehutch) at the bottom of his garden, he can be found continuing to explore and expand on his drawing practice.

 

Statement

My work engages with identity and place. Emotional architecture. Psychological landscapes. Memory. Visibility. Revelation of the hidden. Liminal space. A moment suspended. An alteration of states.

EXHIBITIONS

Selected Exhibitions
2018 White and Black, Whistleblower Gallery, Hove
2017 Queer Arts Festival, London
2017 Trace Queer Collective, Cafe Plenty, Brighton
2017 May Festival, Naked Eye Gallery, Hove
2017 Pink Season, Brighton Pop Up Gallery, Brighton
2016 Brunswick Town Art Fair, Hove
2016 Refrain, Naked Eye Gallery, Hove
2015 Back with a Bang, Ink-d Gallery, Brighton
2015 London Art Fair, Islington
2014 Affordable Art Fair, Battersea
2014 London Art Fair, Islington
2013 Occupied Territories, Ink-d Gallery, Brighton
2013 George Thornton Art, Nottingham
2013 Triptych, Naked Eye Gallery, Hove
2013 Pallant House, Chichester
2013 National Open, R.C.A (winner of Finest Drawing prize)
2012 New Works, Naked Eye Gallery, Hove
2012 George Thornton Art, Nottingham
2011 North and South, Naked Eye Gallery, Hove
2011 George Thornton Art, Nottingham
2018 New horizons, Art of Treason Gallery, Brighton
2018 Dirty Work, Pop up Gallery, Brighton
2018 Macys Department Store, San Francisco, U.S.A
2018/2019 Fine Lines, Eric Buterbaugh Gallery, Los Angeles, U.S.A
2019 A Silent Space Between, Arundel