John Heywood-Waddington

My paintings are about movement, rhythm and intensity of feeling. The human figure has always been a strong inspiration for subject-matter, fuelling my ideas.

Deriving much of my source material from personal photos, observational drawings and sketches, there is often a suggested narrative - though the viewer can draw their own conclusions.

My paintings are rooted in physicality and the body - I move around a lot when painting, making gestural, expressive use of the brush.

There are two sorts of narrative in my work. One is grounded in the representational, figurative tradition and the other is performative, process-driven, where the act of painting becomes a subject itself.

What interests me is the interplay and tension between these two approaches to my work - and between the languages of abstraction and figuration.

Much of my work originates in a recognisable world: from lost souls in pub interiors, recreational scenes in rural landscapes; wild, stormy seas with freezing bathers, or ghostly, semi-abstract seascapes to urban milieus in which figures look off into the distance, absorbed in solitude, facing the unknown future. These are everyday scenes - fragile, fleeting moments that I want to distil in the painting.

Cin...

MA Fine Art, City and Guilds of London Art School
MA Professional Writing, Falmouth University
BA (Hons) Media Arts, Royal Holloway, University of London

Group Exhibitions

2024 - The Other Art Fair, Saatchi Art, Truman Brewery, London (Oct)
2024 - BTA Art Prize, Online Exhibition
2024 - Wells Art Contemporary, Wells, Somerset
2024 - The Other Art Fair, Saatchi Art, Truman Brewery, London (March)
2023 - GAIA - Camden Image Gallery, London
2023 - Luxembourg International Art Fair, Luxembourg
2023 - Van Gogh Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2023 - 7 Artists at 7 Stratton, Mayfair, London
2023 - Aldeburgh Gallery, Bolam Style pop-up, Suffolk
2023 - Art on a Postcard, London
2023 - A Generous Space 3 (selected), Artist Support Pledge, Huddersfield Art Gallery
2023 - The Other Art Fair, Saatchi Art, Truman Brewery, London (March)
2022 - POLYGON, Holy Art Gallery, London
2022 - Koppel Project X, London Paint Club, Popup Exhibition, Piccadilly
2022 - Painting Open, noformat Gallery, Second Floor Studios and Arts, Deptford
2022 - MA Fine Art Degree Show, City and Guilds of London Art School
2022 - Members Online Summer Exhibition, Tendencies in Painting London Paint Club
2022 - Interim Show, City and Guilds of London School of Art      
2021 - End of Year Show, Essential School of Painting, Mile End Art Pavilion                 
2020 - Pop-up Shop, Aldeburgh Gallery, Suffolk         ...