An art exhibition opening in Hatfield this month will celebrate the prolific career of a nonagenarian artist.
Abstract artist Graham Boyd – 94 and still painting – is the focus of the University of Hertfordshire's forthcoming Volatile Creatures exhibition at the Art + Design Gallery in College Lane.
“We are all volatile and complex creatures – made up of atoms and particles, all-prevailing and universal," said Graham. "This is what I am trying to reflect.”
Herts-based Boyd studied illustration at Watford School of Art from 1948 to 1951.
An Honorary Fellow of the University of Hertfordshire, he was Head of Painting and Course Leader in Fine Art at Herts College of Art and Design from 1976 to 1993, which is now the University of Hertfordshire.
Boyd’s paintings are also in the UH Art Collection and can be seen on campus.
Talking about the forthcoming show, curator Elizabeth Murton said: “Graham is interested in what is hidden, what is universal and what forms us as ‘volatile and complex creatures’.
"Visitors to the exhibition will see how he brings contrasting forces together – order and chaos as seen in Apollo and Dionysus in Greek mythology.
"With great energy, he merges seemingly contrasting colours, forms, and methods together and gives the opportunity for different possibilities and harmonies.”
Opening to the public on July 21, the UH Arts + Culture summer exhibition will focus on three key periods in Boyd's career.
The show captures how different methods of working from the 1970s and 1980s have inspired the paintings that Boyd is creating today in his ninth decade.
Born in 1928, Graham Boyd has been practising as an artist for seven decades and his work has been exhibited and represented in collections across the globe.
Known as a veteran of abstraction, he resided in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the 1950s, a period that had a profound impact on his perception of space and its representation.
The earliest works to be exhibited in the show are the New Hampshire Grids, developed whilst Boyd was working as a Professor at the University of New Hampshire, USA.
These meticulous and repetitive drawings contrast with the expressive, larger, colourful paintings of the 1980s, but have combined to inspire the artist’s most recent work.
Boyd’s work changed dramatically after taking part in Triangle, USA, with Sir Anthony Caro in 1983.
The workshop brought together a host of international painters and sculptors for an intense period of experimentation and creativity.
His paintings from this period reflect his changing aspirations, working with a sense of scale and with intuition rather than planned logic.
At 94, Graham continues to work from his Hertfordshire studio, relishing the unpredictability and power of colour, and continually experimenting with shape and form.
As he himself says, “the main thing is to be able to be surprised by what is encountered".
Curator Elizabeth Murton added: “It has been a great pleasure talking to Graham about his work and how it has developed over the last 50 years.
"His encyclopaedic knowledge and passion for art is matched by the depth of his commitment to paint.
"We are thrilled to be hosting such a celebration of his work and look forward to welcoming visitors to the show throughout the summer.”
Graham Boyd: Volatile Creatures runs from July 21 to September 10, 2022 at the University of Hertfordshire, Art + Design Gallery, College Lane, Hatfield. Find out more at www.uharts.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here