I have known Quentin for over 20 years as both a wine customer and
a very good, generous friend.
I have always admired his work, some of which happily adorns my
house, and I am now very pleased to be able to present here,
some of his work. He
is now well established as one of this country's foremost and original
artists, whose
work is becoming ever more sought after. We would particularly recommend
his new
work for use in hotels, offices, restaurants etc, where these abstracts
can help to
brighten up one's working environment.
Christopher Wood
Introduction
The inspiration for Quentin's latest work is much more philosophical
than concrete.
In all of his works Quentin is attempting to create a visual interpretation
of an
abstract thought. These thoughts include friendship, reaching personal
goals, the relationship between
sea and land as a metaphor for concrete actions and abstract thoughts.
For hope and dreams.
We have always steered clear of the pseudo babble so often found
in art literature,
more often than not created after the artworks to give them a false
profundity. So
we've just put a few words or phrases to each picture to give a
hint of what was in
Quentin's mind as he painted. Quentin is much better at articulating
his thoughts via
his brush onto canvas / wood / metal. If it was the other way round,
he'd be an author.
So without further ado, on with the show!
Quentin King
- Born in Eastbourne in 1957
- Studied Graphic design at Bath Academy of Art
After graduating, Quentin worked for an advertising / design company
to fulfil his ambitions
to work in design. He left the advertising world after just two
weeks on realizing that he wanted
to work free from commercial restraint. In 1982 he set up a screen
press in his flat and became
a printmaker. During his early years as an artist / screen painter,
he produced many sought after
editions and posters which are among collections around the world.
His work has often been used
in film and television backdrops in programmes.
In 1991 Quentin established Harwood King Fine Arts, a silkscreen
editioning house,
now renowned throughout the world for producing some of the finest
silkscreen prints.
Quentin is currently working on a new range of abstract prints strong
in colour and design. Although
principally interested in silkscreen printing, Quentin's recent
work has shown an enthusiasm for
experimenting in different media, including etching and carborundum.
Inking up the image
the abstracts
Inspiration for the abstract work is a fusion of Rothko with Quentin's
work on canvas which isinfluenced by his travels around Italy,
Spain and Southern France. His preoccupation with naturaltextures
and shapes formed by light and shadows is distinctly evident in
his current work using carborundum. "What drew me to the
use of carborundum was the intensity and depth of colour that is
heightened by the three dimensional qualities of the medium".
Traditionally,
carborundum has been used in the construction of a
painting plate - much the same way that a copper sheet is the base
for an etching. Quentin has usedcarborundum in a very unique way -
as part of the surface of each picture. Each work is shown
off to its best advantage with a simple but comtemporary and striking stainless
steel backdrop which also acts as the frame.The simplicity of this
display negates the needs for a traditional frame -
making the gallery owners life much easier.
Each image is delivered, ready to hang.
what is carborundum?
Carborundum (silicon carbide) is made from coke which is fired at
great heat to produce a substance which
is the next hardest to diamonds. This is then crushed into different
grades and textures for a number of uses -
most commonly for sandpapers. For our artwork purposes, carborundum
is mixed with a hardener and applied
in varying viscosity to a steel plate before being inked up. The
finished result provides an amazing translucency
and depth of colour not normally achieved using traditional
printing techniques.
