ANTOINETTE VON SAURMA
art doesn't work by being analysed, it works by enchantment
In the absence of narrative a meditative quality emerges from the work offering visual experiences that can be both nourishing and contemplative. I don't set out wanting to do anything at all, I follow the work. The resulting forms have one purpose – to take us to another place, all other considerations are secondary. The work continually evolves, it knows far more than I do, I am simply the means by which it gains purchase in the world.
In the absence of narrative a meditative quality emerges from the work offering visual experiences that can be both nourishing and contemplative. I don't set out wanting to do anything at all, I follow the work. The resulting forms have one purpose – to take us to another place, all other considerations are secondary. The work continually evolves, it knows far more than I do, I am simply the means by which it gains purchase in the world.
RICHARD DEVEREUX
TIME WILL OPEN BY ITSELF (I) after Olav H Hauge, 2021, Belgian linen with oxide of iron 43.5 x 31.0 cm
THE CALM DREAM (I) after Olav H. Hauge 2021 pigment dispersal on aqueous polyester (inc. museum glass + frame) 23.2 x 17.4 cm
THE DREAM WILL OPEN BY ITSELF ( V ) after Olav H. Hauge, 2021 pigment dispersal on aqueous polyester within archival window mount. Image area: 12.7 x 9.5cm, archival mount: 45.0 x 33.0cm
UNTROUBLED LINE – small (after Iris Murdoch) 2019 Lincolnshire limestone – silverbed 18.5 x 14.6. x 2.5 cm
HOW WILL YOU GO ABOUT FINDING THAT THING THE NATURE OF WHICH IS TOTALLY UNKNOWN TO YOU? 2015, oil pigment dispersal on panel 121.5 x 162.5 x 5.0 cm
UNTROUBLED ARC (I II and III) 2019 silica and raw pigment on Dibond, each panel 27.8 x 19.0 x 3.3 cm
Studio: CONTINUIOUS NOW turquoise (IV) 2012, pigment dispersal on 100% cotton fibre 147.0 x 108.0 cm
A PURE UNTROUBLED LINE IV (after Iris Murdoch) 2019 Lincolnshire limestone – silverbed 34.5 x 23.5. x 4.0 cm
6000º, 2006 six thousand degrees fahrenheit on cotton fibre housed within archival Solander case 43.0 x 52.4 x 7.3 cm
A PURE UNTROUBLED LINE (after Iris Murdoch) 2019 Lincolnshire limestone – silverbed 21.4 x 15.0 x 4.0 cm
A PURE UNTROUBLED LINE III (after Iris Murdoch) 2019, Lincolnshire limestone – silver bed, 33.5 x 22.4 x 5.0 cm
WITH ITS PURE UNTROUBLED LINE (III) after Iris Murdoch 2019, Ironstone and silica on Dibond panel 27.8 x 19.0 x 3.5
THE SOFT-PRESS OF SILENCE, 2020 (s.2 no.5) limestone, atomised iron + mixed media (private collection, USA)
In Stillness and In Silence
Rare footage of a 1998 film where David Bowie discusses the British artist Richard Devereux’s work: In Stillness and In Silence.
HOW WILL YOU GO ABOUT FINDING THAT THING THE NATURE OF WHICH IS TOTALLY UNKNOWN TO YOU?
What is your favourite material to work with? How has your use of it evolved throughout your practice?
All materials have their own unique resistance – its resistance that I like
What themes do you pursue?
I don't set out wanting to do anything at all, I follow the work
What advice has had the biggest impact on your career?
"Art gives us a sanctuary, it gives us a place to go." Sean Scully, The New Shock of The New, BBC 2004
If you could install your art absolutely anywhere, where would that be?
Abbey of Our Lady of Nový Dvůr, Bohemia, Czech Republic: https://www.cjwho.com/post/104940282435/abbey-of-our-lady-of-nov-dvr-by-john-pawson
If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
James Turrell's Roden Crater: https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/james-turrell-roden-crater
What are your favourite places besides your studio?
Mountains of north-west Cumbria, UK
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO
2015
New Works by Richard Devereux, Galleri Mjøsvågen, Hosanger, Norway
Continuous Now, Tarpey Gallery, Castle Donington, UK
2014
Encounters, Roselidden Centre for Reflection and Creativity, Cornwall, UK
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GROUP
2020
2020, Refresh, Tarpey Gallery, Castle Donington, UK
2017
Aesthetica Art Prize (longlist) York, UK
2015
Nottingham Castle Open, Nottingham, UK
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WORKS IN COLLECTIONS
Chelsea School of Art, London, UK
Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA
Manchester Metroplitan University, UK
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GALLERIES
Tarpey Gallery, UK | https://tarpeygallery.com/
PUBLICATIONS
Assembled Rites, 1997
In Stillness and in Silence, 1994
Casting Visions, 1997
EDUCATION (detailed)
1974–77 Portsmouth College of Art, United Kingdom
2002 Hitsuzendo, under the tutelage of Zen Master Terayama Tanchu Sensei, Tsukuba Dojo, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
