Richard Woods
Richard Woods (b.1966) is well known for his architectural installations and re-surfacing of structures that propose an absurd twist on the cult of home improvement. His works are characterised by cartoon-like decorative surfaces, bold patterns and vibrant colours. We revisit Woods' first suite of prints published by the gallery in 2011, Woodblock Inlays. Each print in the series takes its composition from seemingly random scatterings of 'offcuts' from one of the artist's floor installations printed onto a single colour background taken from a sheet of plywood. The series is densely inked and heavily printed to create a rich, physical surface on the paper.
Also illustrated below are prints from Woods' Dream Homes series made with a combination of woodblock and stencil in 2018. Several of these prints are housed in the permanent collection at the British Museum. Each Dream Home takes as its central motif the black outline of a house and is layered with Woods' classic brick, tile, wood and stone patterns and designs. Referencing the booming UK market for second homes amid a crisis of housing supply, each print is titled with phrasing used by estate agents in housing adverts, such as 'Potential to convert' and 'Tastefully modernised'.
These compositions are shown together with small framed paintings from a series entitled Hand Held Landscapes, 2017. These works combine an interest in portable medieval panel paintings that were folded up and carried by worshippers in their pockets for private devotion as well as referencing the generic greenbelt 'land for sale' images offered in estate agent windows.
