Peregrine Heathcote: Skyward
Peregrine Heathcote’s latest exhibition, Skyward, explores the UK-based painter’s enduring fascination with travel, cinema, and the extraordinary innovations that have shaped global transportation over the past century. Opening at Bonner David New York on June 26, the exhibition will run through August 8.
Heathcote’s narrative paintings feature a main character caught in a moment of dramatic intensity or contemplation, often set against a landscape that incorporates vintage cars, airplanes, yachts, and even hot air balloons. “I like the idea that the viewer is walking into an intimate moment of the characters through these new paintings,” says Heathcote. “Contemplative, still and elegant figures pausing in a quiet moment of reflection, lost in thought.”
While these machines of yesterday play a major role in the visual aesthetic of Heathcote’s work, the main focus is still a strong, independent female caught in his cinematic gaze. “The backdrops are bathed in warm light and painted using rich and vibrant colors,” says Heathcote. “This transports the viewer into another world, frames from movies that are not made, and leaves the viewer wondering ‘what will happen to the characters in the next moment?" Heathcote’s work is also inspired by retro cinema and how viewers may respond to the heroine’s situation.
“To paraphrase noted film theorist John Boorstin, I would also like to provide the viewer with a scene for the sheer sake of being carried away, maybe in some of the paintings, even a preserved shared connection with the protagonist’s fate.”
For gallery director Rebecca Rosenfield, collectors have always responded to the nostalgia of Heathcote’s work and the visual strength of the vision he creates within the frames of his paintings. “His work is so romantic, always, and he creates scenes complete with beautiful people in beautiful clothing in beautiful places,” says Rosenfield. “It is so hard not to fall in love when you are looking deeply into his work. The detail and depth of color capture the viewer by creating a pause for them to look at every inch of the painting. It’s also incredible how diverse his collectors are, from aviation enthusiasts to cinema buffs to golfers, only a true talent can create paintings that speak to so many people.”
Hear artist Peregrine Heathcote share the inspiration behind his new painting "Theatre Foyer", a featured work in his upcoming exhibit in our New York gallery.
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