Artist Biography
Anthony Light is accomplished in photography as well as painting, and is self-taught in both. For Light, challenging the limits and experimenting with the possibilities of his media and subject matter are crucial to his art.
Although his paintings are abstract, Light draws much of the inspiration for his work from the landscape. He has spent time on the islands of Orkney and Shetland with their Wild scenery and unique light. He has also visited the dry and scorched terrains of Morocco and Spain. The artist does not seek to reproduce the sights he sees, but rather to incorporate the sensations they evoke in his paintings.
Music is another important influence in Anthony Light’s work. The artist has long since been fascinated by jazz music, and indeed many of his paintings seem alive with pulsating rhythms. Light is also very attracted to the abstract rhythms of classical music and listens frequently when he paints.
The night sky is another great passion of Anthony Light. The vastness and mystery of the universe is often felt in his paintings. Through careful construction, Light’s work often possesses depth and an ambiguity of scale reminiscent of the infinity of space.
Solid draughtsmanship, the base on which Light builds his abstract images, stems from his appreciation of Klee, Picasso and Braque, artists who continue to exert an important influence on his work.
Anthony Light’s paintings are exciting, not just for their innovation but for the strength of their design and execution. They evoke sensations of the landscapes that surround us, suggesting elements of the universe that cradles us, and at the same time move with a rhythm that touches us.
Gillian Dunn
Art Historian, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
1990 – 33 Arts Centre, Luton, “Contemporary Luton”
1991 – Smith’s Gallery, London, “East of England Open”
1991 – Loggia Gallery, London
1991 – Tabernacle Gallery, London, “Portobello Gpen”
1992 – Barbican Art Gallery, London, “The London Group”
1992 – Eastern Touring Exhibition, “Drawings for All”
1994 – England & Co gallery, London
1995 – Rikki Harcourt Gallery, Hitchin, Herts
1996 – Rikki Harcourt Gallery, Hitchin, Herts
1996 – Bromham Mill, Bromham, Herts
1996 – Ibis Hotel, Paris
1998-1999 – Plumline Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
2001-2002 – Cornerstone Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
2003-2005 – Contour Gallery, Newlyn, Cornwall
1998-2012 – Salthouse, St Ives, Cornwall
2013-2017 – Avalon Gallery, Marazion, Cornwall
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1986 – The Haworth Art House, Accrington
1987 – Leeds Playhouse, Leeds
1987 – Theatre Royal & Opera House, Wakeheld
1997 – The Radlett Art Centre, Hertfordshire
2010 – Contour Gallery, Newlyn
2012 – Great Atlantic Gallery, Falmouth
2014 – Great Atlantic Gallery, Falmouth
Awards / Sponsorship
1985 – Oppenheim-John Downs Memorial Trust £400
1986 – Oppenheim-John Downs Memorial Trust £250
1990 – Oppenheim-John Downs Memorial Trust £500
2011 – Award winning photography accepted for permanent display in Penzance Library
Competitions
1976 – Nikon UK, Kingston~upon-Thames – Awarded 1st Prize in Colour Photography section of “International Competition”
1984 – Book Publisher’s Association, London – Awarded 2nd Prize in Colour Photography section of “National Competition”
1986 – Building Centre Trust, London – Work selected to form part of the exhibition “Form & Texture in Industrial Buildings and Factories”, toured Britain
1987 – Building Centre Trust, London – Work selected to form part of the exhibition “Building Works on Water”, toured Britain
1992 – Kings Lynn Art Centre, Kings Lynn – Awarded 1st Prize for Painting in the “Eastern Open Competition”
1994 – Kings Lynn Art Centre, Kings Lynn – Highly Commended for Painting in the “Eastern Open Competition”
2011 – Spirit of Porthleven – Painting awarded 3rd Prize