The Unit London Gallery

Ryan Hewett

Order Private View

September 29, 2016

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The PV was fabulous!! Very interested in the gallery itself. The Unit Gallery run by 2 young men trying to change the way art is presented to the public. Making art more accessible, using new ways of publicizing their artists, and using social media in new ways. This was a very upscale PV. The room was dark and spotlights shone only on the paintings. I was enamoured by 2 paintings. Ryan has this deconstructive way of breaking down the image that I find very powerful. His painting techniques give great contrast on the canvas. One portrait in particular I loved because colourful globs of oil paint sat beside carefully palette-smeared strokes, all the colours sumptuously waiting, before confidently and deliciously blended. The contrast of the smooth background that he uses a rolling brush to apply and the way he tapes off certain areas gives such a great liveliness to the work. The other portrait I loved was of a female. I was intrigued because he was able to abstract, and add lots of texture on a female portrait without the need for it to be smooth and beautiful. I can see in this portrait of Ryan’s that he was able to get a great balance of contrast with the rough texture of the paint on the face and the smoothness of the “feminine” neck. I was moved seeing his paintings in action at the gallery. I gained real insight on how I could approach such contrasts in some of my work.