Richard Elliott / title: Glasgow Staircase / medium: watercolour on paper mounted on 4mm plywood / dimensions: 120cm x 120cm

Richard Elliott / title: Blue Green Glass Staircase / medium: watercolour on paper mounted on 4mm plywood / dimensions: 120cm x 120cm

Richard Elliott / title: Link Hybrid, Beijing / medium: watercolour on paper mounted on 4mm plywood / dimensions: 120cm x 120cm

Richard Elliott’s paintings focus on architectural subjects and the landscape they inhabit, often depicting Modernist buildings and structures that he has photographed in many different locations in the UK and around the world. Watercolour painting often has historical connotations with refined representations of nature. Using this medium to depict the modern world deploys it differently, remembering that it is often the medium of choice for architects to illustrate the planned populated vistas of idealised buildings. As well as landmark modern buildings, his paintings also focus on overlooked urban structures, such as roundabouts and walkways that we use to navigate spaces. He say’s “ they become ‘monuments’ in the Robert Smithson sense, reminding us of lost ideals or potential, but with their own strange beauty”.

Richard Elliott studied at Manchester Metropolitan University and The Royal Academy Schools, London. He has exhibited paintings and photographs at Chelsea Space, Beaconsfield, Standpoint Gallery, Essor Gallery, Gasworks Gallery, V&A’s Museum of Childhood, Loyola University New Orleans and the Cheng Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing. In recent years he has been selected for the Royal Academy and the Royal Scottish Academy summer exhibitions and been a prize-winner in the Cass Art Prize, the Royal West Academy, the Winsor and Newton Prize and the Sunday Times watercolour competition. He has work in public and private collections including the National Trust, Manchester City Art Gallery and English Heritage.

Richard Elliott / ENG

Gill Ord / UK