The artist in his studio. Courtesy: the artist and Studio Gallery, Sydney.

Studio Gallery presents Nathan Paddison’s first solo exhibition in Australia, EIGHTY HD.

“Paddison’s playful double entendres extend from title to canvas, REEL fake Vouis Luitton Q and eats along store Ee interlace images of winged unicorns, hot pink dinosaurs and crowned queens. His work appears to make light of consumer culture through references of high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci, that are purposely mispronounced and misrepresented.

Paddison states, however, that he doesn’t actively engage in social or political commentary. Instead he is responding to the world as he experiences it. Consequently, his paintings can be perceived as a kind of self-portrait. He includes cultural icons such as 2Pac, Scarface and other motifs as a reference to his time living in Sydney’s western suburbs as a child and young adult.

While Paddison seems well versed in his medium, this has not always been the case. His practice has evolved from a self-described ‘troubled past’. “When I started painting I just couldn’t stop. It’s not that I chose to be an artist or something led me there, I just had to paint and it all just fell into place, like it was meant to be.”

Yet despite his turbulent history, Paddison’s neo-expressionist artworks are delightfully spirited. Paddison finds inspiration from artists such as Willem de Kooning, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Cy Twombly. This is evident in his raw, almost brutish, expression of paint which renders recognisable objects, animals and human figures on the canvas. His linework retains a sketchy quality, and his brushstrokes feel free and unresolved. “I need to mark the canvas to get some guidance, but once I get going, it’s a very good flow. I do always paint several works at once though, jumping from one to the other.”

Paddison is represented in galleries across the globe, including IdeelArt, London, Singulart, Paris, and Saatchi Art, California. He boasts a significant exhibition history which has seen his work featured in Art Miami, Florida, Atelier Aki, South Korea, Humble House Gallery, Canberra and Gosford Regional Gallery, Central Coast.” – Gabrielle Bergman

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