Paul Ayers

Paul Ayers

Venue : Clifton High School College Road BS8 3JD

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Paul Ayers studied Fine Art at Falmouth School of Art and Design in the 1990s. He has exhibited his work in the Royal Cornwall Museum, Falmouth Art Gallery, the Discerning Eye Exhibition, the Royal College of Art, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath and the Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol.​ He is also Head of Art at Clifton High School.

Paul is primarily a painter, although he also explores ideas through printmaking and alternative photography (screenprinting, collagraphy and cyanotype).  In his painting practice he explores the physical qualities of oil paint and the myriad variety of textures, light effects, colour and illusions that can be achieved with them on a flat surface. So, while his work represents objects in the real world, he strives to give the painted surfaces of his works an intensity and physical presence.

He uses photographic references (his own, sometimes found, imagery) to constructimaginary places that could be real but have a heightened sense of emotion and atmosphere. Influences include Peter Doig, Peter Blake, Caspar David Friedrich and Peter Howson.

Paul is particularly interested in the idea of juxtaposition – such as setting artificial, man-made structures and elements against natural landscapes, so that objects seem out of place and “surreal”. His recent “Fighters” series are based upon archive photographs of late 19th/early 20th Century boxers. They explore the juxtaposition of typically “masculine” forms with “feminine” patterns.

Website: www.paulayersart.studio

Email: [email protected]