John Hiom

Technically, John's paintings are easy to categorise: his working methods would be recognisable to any painter from the last 500 years. The uncertainty which his paintings introduces comes when we describe their content.

His obsession with trying to establish an image leads to an almost hallucinatory state of realism. Objects and animals appear, but almost too clearly; the vividness of the light, the fluidity of the brushwork or the saturation of the colour lead to an equivocation about what it is we're actually looking at. A chair is pushed under a table, but the small details - like how the light falls on the chair back, or the angle of the veneered table - distract and unsettle. The physical practice of painting - Hiom's technical facility with paint - is used with cold logic to create images of ambiguity, disquiet and a strangely obscure version of reality.

His work has recently taken on a multimedia practice that encompasses painting, photography, film, and sounds.

MA(Dis) - University of Brighton
BA(Hons) - West Surrey College of Art

Solo Shows:
'Chroma' - Round Georges Gallery - Brighton, 2014
Real Patisserie - Brighton, 2013
James Colman Fine Art – London N1, 1998
'Blasting' - Phoenix Art Gallery, Brighton, 1996

Group Shows:
BEEP Painting Biennial, Swansea, 2022 (finalist)
ESPY Photography Award, Swansea, 2019 (finalist)
'A3' - Phoenix Art Gallery, Brighton, 2014
Phoenix Art Gallery, South Gallery - Brighton, 2011
'NAB 07' - Birmingham, 2007
Celeste Art Prize, 2007 (finalist)
Foster Art Summer Show - London, 2006
'Empty Swept & Garnished' - Market Hall, Shrewsbury, 2005
'Frankfurt Art' – Frankfurt, 2004
James Colman Fine Art - London N1, 2004
'Fresh Art' - Business Design Centre, Islington, 2003
'Ghosts' - Gasworks Gallery, Vauxhall, London, 1997
Brighton Open - Brighton Art Gallery, 1996
'Museum of Hygiene' (co-curator) - 34 Underwood Street, London, 1996
'Art Forming...emerging young artists' - Broad Street, London, 1994
'Artists Europe Unite' - Andernach, Germany, 1992

Student Shows:
Degree Show - W.S.C.A.D., 1994
Fresh Art - Business Design Centre, Islington, 1994
MA show - University of Brighton Art School, 1996

Film Screenings:
'Trees' - backdrop used by Trying to Kill Me during live performance at the Round Georges, Bri...