The Crumpled Beauty of Rupert Shrive

Above: Rupert Shrive's Wallpaper diptych (left), 2008 (acrylic, varnish and wallpaper on brown paper, 165 x 128 x 12 cm).

Creation, destruction, and rebirth are all addressed in the recent three-dimensional paintings of British born artist, Rupert Shrive. He manipulates and deconstructs his paintings into dramatic “sculptures” and installations, using paper, varnish, eggshells and even a nautilus shell. He refers to his unique technique as “Post Painting.”

Above: Rupert Shrive standing next to his "post painting"—Chinese girl PVC, 2008.

This dapper gentleman’s success didn’t happen overnight—he was expelled from school at 17; then enrolled in Norwich School of Art, in 1983; eventually graduating in 1987, from St. Martins School of Art in London.


Above: A video tour of Mr. Shrive's exhibit last year at Orel Art. Please note the interview is in Spanish, but it gives you a great perspective of the scale and power of his work.

Mr. Shrive’s successful solo exhibit last year, at the Orel Art Gallery, followed several other successful one-man shows in London, Madrid, Milan and Hong Kong.

Above: We have all the time in the world, 2008 (acrylic and varnish on brown paper, ostrich egg, 22 x 23 x 16 cm).

Above: Eclosion, 2008 (acrylic on brown paper, wall, dimensions variable).
Above: Yellow Geisha, 2008 (acrylic and varnish on brown paper, 185 x 112 x 15 cm).

Above: Mr. Shrive contributed a piece in the February issue of French Vogue—their tribute to the model du jour, Lara Stone.

Above: Self Portrait (diagonal), 2008 (acrylic and varnish on brown paper, 95 x 66 x 5 cm).

Rupert’s advice to young artists, as quoted from a 2007 interview in The Guardian, “Choose the path you want to pursue, believe in it, and then work as hard as you can. Young artists need as many obstacles as possible so that only the tough ones come through; they're usually the only ones worth looking at.”

See more of this gentleman's (Rupert standing next to artwork above) intriguing work here. Mr. Peacock hopes Rupert Shrive has a show in the United States soon—hopefully on the West Coast!