Rowan Newton is a painter exploring the complexity of human emotion through body language and expressive paint application.
With single character compositions, Rowans figures are as complex emotionally, as they are physically contrasting. Bold and vivid, colours combine through scrapes and sweeps as he drags his mixed medias of oil and spray paint over the canvas. The uplifting dynamism owned by the paint collides with the unassuming composition of his forms; a darker edge emerges…
The gaze of the voyeur is irrelevant, as his characters recoil and turn away from our stares, an ambivalent nonchalance to our presence is created. Though beautiful and elegant they make no attempt to seduce us with their naked forms, they are unconcerned with you. As we move past the beauty of colour, we are left with subtle suggestions of darkness, pain and anxiety, moments which create for the viewer a context to reflect on their own unique experiences the same. It is this stark collision of attitude and approach which really typifies Rowans style.
“I want the viewer to look at something that they have seen a thousand times before, but experience it completely differently”
Growing up in Brixton, Rowan developed an early fascination with an urban landscape constructed of graffiti and billboard advertisements. These gritty layers and textures continue to influence his work in the studio as he tirelessly works to blend them in new and conflicting ways.
Rowan has been painting professionally since 2004
