Guinevere Antiques presents a selling exhibition of abstract expressionist paintings by artist Dick Roberts shown alongside an unprecedented collection of ancient Ban Chiang pottery from Thailand.
“I paint what I see in my dreams, sometimes I’ll wake from a dream and go into my studio and start painting.” Dick Roberts
American artist Dick Roberts took up painting 19 years ago after a successful career in merchant banking. He has no formal training and describes himself as a colourist with an innate sense of motion. He works from his studio in Wiltshire on pieces that can take up to two years to complete and often hangs his more difficult or unfinished works at the end of his pool so that he can contemplate them as he swims.His work bears the imprint of a life spent outdoors which has made him intrinsically aware of sun and shadow, motion and luminosity. He uses acrylics, tar, sand and any substance that enhances the motion within his determinedly abstract paintings. There is no languid stillness to Robert’s work - it is totally alive and a feast for the imagination. His work is sought by fans and collectors such as Sir Peter Michael and Sir Robert Hiscox.
As a long- standing friend and client of Guinevere Antiques, the team has been aware of his work for many years and has always wanted to showcase his pieces. The exhibition represents owners Kevin and Marc Weaver’s favourite pieces from Roberts’s body of work.
At the same time Guinevere has decided to show a collection of ancient Ban Chiang pottery from Thailand providing a stimulating counterpoint to Robert’s paintings.
“The two disciplines which are so dramatically opposed represent the essence of Guinevere,” say the Weavers. “We are constantly searching for a new angle or twist to inspire or excite and we thought the completely contemporary look of Roberts’s work would be beautifully complemented by the pottery, which has never before been exhibited in the UK as such a complete collection”.
Curated by Mark West, a respected glass connoisseur, this stunning collection of pottery comes from different parts of what is modern Thailand. Ban Chiang in the northwest and Lop Bury in the centre. Those from Ban Chiang are between 2000 and 4500 years old and those from Lop Bury are 2000- 2500 years old.
As Kevin and Marc explain: “Their cross-cultural shapes which show similarities to other pre-historic pottery from China , Pre-Colombian America as well as Egyptian, Roman and Greek forms, are what drew us to the collection. The large size of some of them (up to 100cm high) and the striking abstract designs painted on them gives them a haunting mystery.”
The exhibition will run for about a month from the 7th November at Guinevere Antiques.
574-580 Kings Road London Sw6 2DY.
Monday – Friday 9.30-6 and on Saturdays from 10-5.30
For further press information, please contact sales@guinvere.co.uk