b. 1938, UK; lives and works in London
2000-2014 Treasurer of the Royal Academy of Arts
1998 Appointed Professor Emeritus Royal College of Art, London
1987 Elected as a Royal Academician
1975-1982 Trustee Tate Gallery
1956-1960 Royal Academy Schools, London
1951-1956 Harrow School of Art


Acknowledged internationally for his large scale bold and dynamic paintings, Huxley’s abstract work explores implied perspectives, combining stretched and distorted ellipses and shapes with flat blocks of colour and linear patterns to create dynamic illusions. Recently the artist has also been exploring the three-dimensional space by producing sculptures that investigate the relationship between geometry, perspective and balance, seen also as the subject matter in his painting practice.

Huxley’s Fermata is his third sculptural contribution to the Cure3 exhibitions. ‘Fermata’ is a musical term signifying the prolongation of a note. The pause that holds the musical or, here, sculptural piece in a precarious balance, is a current theme in Huxley’s work. Fermata, like other works in the series, did in fact balance momentarily before the artist froze it in its present configuration. “Balancing acts are an ancient form of entertainment; they inspire awe and disbelief and so they are fun. They can also be dangerous and forebode downfall and disaster” says Huxley, a seminal figure in the development of abstract painting in Britain and beyond. Teacher, painter, sculptor, printmaker and writer, his work is continuously enriching, deconstructing and redefining abstraction and its principles. Fermata is an invitation, as indicated by its title, to pause and relish the suspended moment in time it offers.


www.paulhuxley.com
www.royalacademy.org.uk

Portrait courtesy Susie Allen-Huxley