Hurvin Anderson: Salon Paintings opened at Kistefos Museum

Kistefos is delighted to announce the first solo exhibition in the Nordic countries of paintings and drawings by acclaimed British artist Hurvin Anderson. Salon Paintings surveys Anderson’s celebrated Barbershop Series, from the earliest Barbershop paintings and related Studio Drawings he made in 2006, through to new paintings on view for the first time with which the series culminates.

Hurvin Anderson was born in 1965 in Birmingham to Jamaican parents, he studied painting at Wimbledon School of Art and the Royal College of Art from which he graduated in 1998. In 2002, he attended the Caribbean Contemporary Arts residency in Port of Spain, Trinidad. That residency had a significant impact on his work, inspiring an exploration of Caribbean postcolonial life that continues to inform Anderson’s paintings.

Anderson has returned repeatedly to the subject of the barbershop as a culturally and socially charged space. Drawing from still life, photographs and found images, he deconstructs the barbershop interior as an imaginative space in which to explore ideas and experiences of memory and national identities over time and distance. This body of work reveals Anderson’s restlessly experimental approach to painting as a process of critical enquiry.

Among the recognitions he has garnered is a nomination for the Turner Prize in 2017.

Hurvin Anderson: Salon Paintings is part of a European tour in collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield and Hastings Contemporary in the UK, where the exhibition has garnered 5-star reviews from The Telegraph and Guardian newspapers:

"The Hepworth Wakefield’s show of Anderson’s thoughtful, sophisticated works confirms him as one of Britain’s finest living painters"

★★★★★ Telegraph

"The opportunity to see the evolution of Anderson’s exploration of the barbershop setting in one space is exceptional"

★★★★★ Guardian

The exhibition includes works from the Christen Sveaas Art Foundation and Private Collection, as well as some of the most political works within this series: Is it OK to be Black?, 2015, was a 70th Anniversary Commission for the British Arts Council Collection with New Art Exchange, Nottingham and Thomas Dane Gallery, London. This work includes depictions of significant figures in the Civil Rights movement, such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, whose ideas and legacy remain important in today’s society. The title responds to a misheard interpretation of the typical barbershop question ‘Is it OK at the back?’ and highlights the underlying social context of the barbershop as a space for the black community.

About the exhibition, Hurvin Anderson said:

‘I am looking forward to showing the final works in the Barbershop series as part of this exhibition. The Barbershop is a subject that I have returned to throughout my career, as a site that was a point of connection to Caribbean culture. In repeating the image, deconstructing it and putting it back together again, the series has also become a meditative exploration of painting itself.’

Hurvin Anderson is one of the most captivating painters working in Britain today. His works manage to be both visually beautiful and poetically poignant, capturing moments of experience and asking questions about memory and identity through his unique process of image-making.

The exhibition will be on display from 4th May to 13th October.

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ABOUT THE HEPWORTH WAKEFIELD

Designed by the acclaimed David Chipperfield Architects, The Hepworth Wakefield is set within Wakefield’s historic waterfront, overlooking the River Calder and The Hepworth Wakefield Garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. Named after Barbara Hepworth, one of the most important artists of the 20th century who was born and brought up in Wakefield, the gallery presents major exhibitions of the best international modern and contemporary art. It is also home to Wakefield’s growing art collection – an inspiring resource comprising outstanding works of Modern British and contemporary art. The gallery runs engaging programmes for schools, families and local community groups to provide inspiring creative learning opportunities and a vibrant workshop, talks and events programme, including regular art fairs and markets.

ABOUT HASTINGS CONTEMPORARY

Hastings Contemporary champions modern and contemporary art. An ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions showcases work by important Modern British artists, internationally celebrated artists and emerging practitioners, often in Kunsthalle-style displays throughout the building. The gallery has developed a reputation for its focus on painting. Innovative programming, partnerships and collaborations support a commitment to outreach, learning and participation. The award-winning building is located on the town’s historic fishing beach, among the net huts and working structures of the fishing fleet.