- Venue
- Poppy Sebire
- Location
- London
Went to the opening of Paul Housley’s show last night at Poppy Sebire. A beautiful space down in Southwark.
I love his work, there’s a mixture of melancholy and humour in them.
The space, a beautifully adapted old church hall, lends itself to quiet contemplation. Hung with the right amount of white space between them, each painting looks like a religious icon, except that these refer to the old masters and more modern ones too. We see Velasquez and Picasso through Paul Housley’s eyes and paint.
Self Portrait as Palette is a clever referencing to the artist as star of the show, in this case to himself and Picasso, in his iconic stripey french fisherman’s top. A palette as a head and wonky eyes immediately conjure up the very language of Picasso while distinctly bearing the signature of Paul Housley’s quick brushstrokes and colour palette.
In Self Portrait as Picasso’s Last Self Portrait the two artists have become one.
With brilliant titles of Monument to a Forgotten Painter, and Flemmish Shadow, the work is a tribute to Painting and Painters. A black cocked hat, a beady eye, a fold of lace all spark off moments of recognition from while painted in deceptively quick flicks of the paint brush. Housley is in himself, a ‘master’.
