Londain’t by Ray Richardson

We are proud to welcome to Ray Richardson to our brand new gallery space from October 4th.

Ray Richardson was born in Woolwich S.E. London in 1964. He studied at St Martins School of Art and Goldsmiths College. He has lived and worked in London, Brussels, Paris and Chicago. He currently lives and works in S.E. London

His work more than just a mirror of everyday life. They are drawn from his own experience of being born, bred and from living and working in London, but also beyond his own city and not just this country. When you look at his work you don’t  just have to experience it through his painting heroes from Vermeer to Rembrandt through to Hopper and Richter and all the usual suspects of art history; see it too through the minor musical language of Gil Scott Heron, Paul Weller and MarvinGaye or the pulp history of James Ellroy or David Mamet and the motivation of cinema and photography from Martin Scorsese, David Lynch through to William Klein and Robert Frank.

‘Londain’t’ is the inaugural show at the re-located space of Rogue Gallery St Leonards, owned by Ray Gange. It is a show of observations from all over the place, that in many cases has a film story board quality with images disappearing from the edges of the drawings or paintings, as in photography or film where a moment can be caught in a 'blink & you might miss it' way. Not all the work is about London where Ray was born and lives, hence the title ‘Londain’t’  ‘‘I don’t want to do a London centric thing, it’s not the be all and end all big deal, but it will have an influence’’.

Ray currently has his painting ‘Estuary English’ on display at the National Portrait Gallery London in The Herbert Smith Freeholds Portrait Award Exhibition, on until October 27th 2024 and his work is in the permanent collection there at the NPG as well as The British Museum and the V&A London amongst others.

'‘Ray Richardson is the Martin Scorsese of painting’'  Lindsay MaCrae, GQ Magazine

’'Ray Richardson is the David Lynch of paint and canvas’'. 

Iain Gale, The Independent