Figure and landscape return to Riverside Studios

Associated media

6–31 May 2014

Riverside Studios’ new show is ‘The Return: An exhibition of recent work by six London painters’, featuring work by Bruno Déroulède, Stephen Feather, Bill McCombe, Fred Mugford, Jon Ridge and Mick Sales. 

‘The Return: An exhibition of recent work by six London painters’presents a diverse selection of work brought together by a shared concern in evoking the human form and landscape in art. Depicting anything from bulbous balloon bodies, fragmented figures and isolated individuals to obliterated landscapes, fractured scenes and desolate locations, these works capture forms caught between states of being. Often approaching and receding, reforming and deconstructing simultaneously as if in some primordial soup, these forms move within the picture plane of images exploring the metamorphic relationship between representation and abstraction.

In response to his controversial stylistic transition, between abstraction and representation, the painter Philip Guston has said:

The appearance may change, that’s why the comments about style sound strange to me, you know, you work in this style or that style as if you had a choice in the matter. What you’re doing is trying to stay alive and continue, not die. Therefore it’s circular....

Despite a hostile reaction from the art establishment, Guston continued to pursue his personal vision and produce work such as The Return (1956–8), now on display in Tate Modern, which is symbolic of his philosophy and approach to painting. It is in this spirit and homage to The Return, that this show marks the return of six London painters to the Riverside Studios Gallery. By presenting a visually dynamic selection of painting, the display aims to stretch viewers' perception of everyday appearance. 

‘The Return: An exhibition of recent work by six London painters’is a show curated by Stephen Feather, Gallery Co-ordinator at Riverside Studios.

Bruno Déroulède, born in 1969, graduated from Wimbledon College of Art in 2010.

Stephen Feather, born in 1983, graduated from Kingston University in 2005.

Bill McCombe, attended Wimbledon College of Art from 1962 - 1964. He occasionally lectures at West Dean College.

Fred Mugford, born in 1964 in Silver Lake, California, is a self taught artist.

Jon Ridge, graduated from Chelsea College of Art in 2009.

Michael Sales,born in 1959, is a self taught artist.

Riverside Studios
Crisp Road
Hammersmith
London W6 9RL

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