Patrick Hughes: His Latest Van Gogh-Inspired Masterpiece

Nov 22, 2024

Patrick Hughes Reverspective, London. Taken by Lougher Contemporary

By Hannah Scoltock

Solid Hollows: Patrick Hughes’ Style

Patrick Hughes, a British artist known for his work in reverspective (reverse perspective), often explores optical illusions and perspective manipulation in his work. Solid Hollows is an innovative series where he creates three-dimensional paintings that appear to shift as viewers move, giving the illusion that parts of the image are in motion or reversing perspective.

Hughes achieves this by playing with depth, geometry, and spatial perception. The artwork is structured with raised sections that look like solid objects or hollows from certain angles, creating a visual paradox that appears to expand and contract as the viewer shifts position. Using bright colours, vivid shapes, and clean lines, Hughes achieves a unique, immersive experience. He invites viewers to question their own sense of reality and perspective, challenging traditional ways of seeing and understanding dimensionality in art.

Finding inspiration in other artists

Patrick Hughes often draws inspiration from iconic works by renowned artists, integrating their styles and motifs into his own Reverspective pieces. He borrows from art history, using famous works as visual elements within his optical illusions to create a blend of homage and innovation. By incorporating the styles, techniques, and imagery of artists like Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Piet Mondrian, Hughes offers a new dimension to these classic works, both literally and figuratively.

For example, Hughes might use elements of Dalí's surreal landscapes or Magritte's dreamlike symbols, placing them within the three-dimensional frames of his Reverspective canvases. This approach challenges viewers not only with his optical effects but also by recontextualising familiar images. Hughes’s work serves as a dialogue with art history, as he brings together disparate styles and eras into his own distinctive visual language. His nods to these artists are more than mere references; they enhance the illusion of movement, allowing these well-known images to “come alive” in anew way.

Van Gogh's Chair

Van Gogh's Chair is one of Vincent van Gogh’s iconic still life paintings, created in 1888 during his time in Arles, France. The painting depicts a simple wooden chair with a woven straw seat, placed on a red tile floor with a small box of tobacco on it. Despite the subject's apparent simplicity, Van Gogh's Chair is rich with symbolism and emotional resonance, as it reflects Van Gogh’s complex inner world, his relationship with other artists, and his use of colour and composition to convey mood.

In addition to these personal elements, Van Gogh's Chair reflects the artist's signature style: bold, contrasting colours, expressive brushstrokes, and a focus on everyday objects imbued with emotional significance. The vibrant yellows and the rhythmic lines in the chair and floor create a feeling of warmth and simplicity, while also suggesting Van Gogh's fascination with colour and light.

Patrick Hughes original artwork at Reverspective, London.

Patrick Hughes' Latest Release

Patrick Hughes’ latest 3D Reverspective creation, Chair, is a striking homage to Vincent van Gogh’s iconic Van Gogh’s Chair. Drawing heavily from the famous 1888 painting, Hughes reimagines Van Gogh’s rustic wooden chair with a three-dimensional twist, using his signature reverspective technique to create an optical illusion where the artwork appears to move and shift as viewers change their perspective.

Like Van Gogh's original work, Hughes' Chair retains the essence of simplicity and symbolism that defined the original painting. The 3D representation captures the humble wooden chair with its woven straw seat, set against a dynamic, illusory background. Hughes' vivid use of perspective transforms Van Gogh’s introspective still life into an interactive experience, inviting viewers to explore the emotional resonance and complexity of the piece from multiple angles.

Hughes and Reverspective have announced the launch of a new Patrick Hughes Multiple: Chair, 2024. The work is a hand-painted multiple in an edition of 45, presented in a Perspex box. Patrick says of the new print: “Vincent’s chair is an inspiration and a challenge. I have separated the chair from its background, broken it down into four planes, laser-cut its struts, put Vincent’s book on his seat and painted and printed the whole icon”.

By echoing the visual and emotional impact of Van Gogh’s chair while adding a contemporary, interactive element, Hughes' Chair bridges the gap between tradition and innovation. His work not only celebrates Van Gogh’s mastery of colour and composition but also reinterprets its symbolic weight for a modern audience, making Chair a tribute to both art history and cutting-edge creativity.

Collecting Patrick Hughes Works

At Lougher Contemporary, we are very pleased to stock a selection of Patrick Hughes works, including the new edition, Chair. Get in touch with our team for more information.

All images taken by Lougher Contemporary at Reverspective, London.

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