In this collection international abstract artist Alex Echo embodies the themes and power of shape-shifting, demonstrating his continuously evolving techniques.
J O H N M Y A T T
F O R E W O R D
The exquisite genius of ar tist John Myatt is an amalgamation of many elements: an unrivalled eye, a dedication to research and learning, and a relentless pursuit of perfection. But as an artist, he is so very much more than the sum of his component par ts. His is a self-knowledge that can come only through extremely for tuitous bir thright, or years of lived experience. In combining this heightened awareness for his craft with a genuine and enduring love for bringing old masterpieces to a new and wider audience, Myatt’s journey has been a veritable masterclass, more than fifteen years in the making. From Monet to Matisse andVan Gogh toVermeer, Myatt’s past portfolio of ‘genuine fakes’ traverses most styles and subjects of any note from the annals of ar t history. For this latest collection, Myatt has taken on the elective realism of famed twentieth century painter, Edward Hopper. After graduating from the NewYork School of Ar t, Hopper travelled to Paris to continue his studies and hone his craft. Finding inspiration among the big names of the day, notably Renoir and Monet, he had an appreciation for Impressionism – it introduced him to painting en plein air – but it wasn’t a style he could or would eventually call his own. During the Renaissance, ar tists such as Leonardo da Vinci were celebrated for their ability to represent the real, whilst
Jackson Pollock and the Abstract Expressionists of the twentieth century prided themselves on their rejection of it. Hopper strode confidently into a middle ground between the two, claiming the space as his own. During the 1940s, it was reported that the art establishment had little time for Hopper’s work, even openly criticising his technique. Myatt’s stance is: “That may well be true, in the way that the paint leaves the brush, but by God he could really compose an image.” Expanding on this idea, Myatt feels – having immersed himself in Hopper’s work during this project – that Hopper perhaps worked in an ‘idea first, subject later’ way. As such, he views his works as conceptual, believing that Hopper would have arrived at the whole narrative behind the painting before he had so much as picked up a paintbrush. Rich in both content and context, there is much to draw the eye and puzzle the mind in this collection. The distinctly cinematic aesthetic poses a question of its own; who has been more influenced by whom? Whilst there is an undeniable film noir quality to Hopper’s work, it is fair to say he has more than contributed to the styling of films that have since followed. It is universally accepted that Alfred Hitchcock had the famous Bates Motel, from his 1960 horror film Psycho, built to resemble the building in Hopper’s ‘House by the Railroad’ painting.
In more recent times, director Sam Mendes spoke at length in a 2002 interview about the inspiration he finds in Hopper’s scenes: “Compositionally, Hopper constantly ensures that your imaginary eye is guided off the frame of the picture.You begin to imagine what’s on either side of the frame. In other words, what’s impor tant is off camera.”This insight was echoed by Finn Blythe, in an editorial for Hero magazine: “Just as the power of Hopper’s paintings lies in what he chooses to exclude, so the tension and spectacle in Hitchcock’s Rear Window relies on what is obscured or unseen.” Myatt’s insight into Hopper’s modus operandi lends its own flavour to the deciphering of his work. John asser ts: “Hopper places the actors on the stage, but it is up to the viewer to write the script.Your personal interpretation of the ‘story’ in the painting – what has just happened, what will happen next? – is up to you. There are no clues within the painting to answer such questions.You must formulate your own opinions.” Despite fastidious research into the artist and his working practice, Myatt does not allow himself to be constrained by Hopper’s methodology. Comparing himself to an actor immersing himself in a role, he says
he climbs into the mind of his chosen artist to adopt, rather than copy, their technique. In a 2005 interview with the Guardian newspaper, John explained: “I try to get the artist’s work to hypnotise me. I also surround myself with lots of books. I like to know everything…where he was, what he was doing… when he was painting.”We see this clearly in the use of light – another key component in delivering the staged, cinematic scenes that exemplify his style. Myatt explains: “In this series, most of the paintings are lit by ar tificial light, which is not true of Hopper as a whole, but emphasises the quality that I was hoping to bring out of my versions of his paintings.” Whether or not John Myatt’s paintings challenge perceived ideas of what ‘real’ works of ar t are, they cer tainly challenge many of the assumptions that underlie the theory and practice of connoisseurship. Traditionally, the value and authenticity of an artwork lies safely and resolutely in the hands of the critic, the auction house or the professor. In so famously duping these so called ‘exper ts’, Myatt has not only added another dimension to the increasingly indistinct boundary between the real and its copy, but stripped the purpose of painting back to its purest form: a visual example of talent and beauty.
O R I G I N A L W O R K S
‘ A U T O M A T , 1 9 2 7 ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R
Original Mixed Media on Canvas / Image Size 77cm x 61cm
‘ G A S , 1 9 4 0 ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R
Original Mixed Media on Canvas / Image Size 76cm x 61cm
‘ S T I L L F R O M T H E M A L T E S E F A L C O N ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R Original Mixed Media on Canvas / Image Size 76cm x 61cm
“ H O P P E R ’ S W A S A K I N D O F C O N C E P T U A L A R T , D E S I G N E D T O H I G H L I G H T T H E I N D I V I D U A L P E R S O N A N D T H E I R E X P E R I E N C E O F L I F E I N A N I N D U S T R I A L I S E D A N D M E C H A N I S E D S O C I E T Y . ”
John Myatt
‘ N I G H T H A W K S ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R I
Original Mixed Media on Canvas / Image Size 106cm x 58cm
‘ N I G H T H A W K S ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R I I ( S T U D Y )
Original Mixed Media on Canvas / Image Size 90cm x 49cm
‘ M O R N I N G S U N 1 9 5 2 N U D E O N B E D ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R Original Mixed Media on Canvas / Image Size 84cm x 61cm
S I G N E D L I M I T E D E D I T I O N P R I N T S
‘ G A S , 1 9 4 0 ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R
‘ A U T O M A T , 1 9 2 7 ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R
Hand Embellished Stretched Canvas / Image Size 30” x 24” / Framed Size 39” x 23” / Edition of 95 / Framed £1,595
Hand Embellished Stretched Canvas / Image Size 30” x 24” / Framed Size 39” x 23” / Edition of 15 / Framed £1,595
‘ S T I L L F R O M T H E M A L T E S E F A L C O N ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R
‘ N I G H T H A W K S ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R I
Hand Embellished Stretched Canvas / Image Size 30” x 24” / Framed Size 39” x 23” / Edition of 15 / Framed £1,595
Hand Embellished Stretched Canvas / Image Size 43” x 23” / Framed Size 52” x 32” / Edition of 95 / Framed £1,950
“ T H E P A I N T I N G S A R E A L L ‘ S E T P I E C E S ’ . B Y W H I C H I M E A N I ’ M S U R E H O P P E R H A D T H E I D E A F O R ‘ N I G H T H A W K S ’ B E F O R E H E F O U N D T H E C A F É T H A T H E U S E D I N T H E P A I N T I N G . T H E S A M E G O E S F O R T H E O T H E R W O R K S I N T H I S S E R I E S . S O , I N T H A T S E N S E , I F E E L T H E P A I N T I N G S A R E C O N T R I V E D T O S E R V E T H E A R T I S T ’ S P U R P O S E . ”
John Myatt
‘ M O R N I N G S U N 1 9 5 2 N U D E O N B E D ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R Hand Embellished Stretched Canvas / Image Size 33” x 24” / Framed Size 42” x 33” / Edition of 15 / Framed £1,650
‘ N I G H T H A W K S ’ & ‘ G A S , 1 9 4 0 ’ I N T H E S T Y L E O F E D W A R D H O P P E R Set of Two / Framed £3,250
“ T H E B E A U T Y O F H O P P E R I S T H A T H I S P A I N T I N G S M E A N S O M E T H I N G D I F F E R E N T T O E V E R Y O N E . N O T W O P E O P L E W I L L S E E T H E S A M E T H I N G , D R A W T H E S A M E C O N C L U S I O N . T H E P O S S I B I L I T I E S A R E E N D L E S S . ”
GlynWashington, Creative Director,Washington Green Fine Ar t
‘ T H E H O P P E R C O L L E C T I O N ’ S E T O F F I V E E D I T I O N S Framed £7,500
B I O G R A P H Y
was exposed, and Myatt was sentenced to a year long prison term for his involvement in the forgery of almost two hundred ar tworks. After a spell in prison for his par t in ‘the greatest art fraud of the 20th century’, John Myatt has gone on to become a hugely popular contemporary ar tist in his own right. Myatt sees his work as not simply creating a copy or pale imitation of the original; he adopts techniques and searches for the inspiration behind each great artist’s view of the world, returning to the places these artists loved, set to explore the angles that remain uncovered or to create the next chapter in a still life. Comparing himself to an actor immersing himself in a role, he says he climbs into the mind of his chosen ar tist to adopt, rather than copy, their technique. Gaining attention from both national and international media and with plans for a Hollywood movie of his life in the pipeline, Myatt’s profile as an art forger turned legitimate painter continues to grow.
“In prison they called me Picasso.”
In 1986, John Myatt placed a classified adver t in Private Eye, ‘19th and 20th century fakes for £200’ and a perfectly legitimate business venture was born. Producing paintings to order, he painted his way through 20th century ar t history, commissioned by a man called ‘Professor John Drewe’. His materials were unor thodox, using household emulsion mixed with KY Jelly to add body and fluidity to his brushstrokes, and yet the quality of his work led Christie’s to value one of his paintings as wor th £30,000.This was the moment that the legitimate business stopped and the crime began. Between 1986 and 1994, John played a central role in what is cited as one of the most elaborate and sophisticated art frauds in history. Myatt’s painstaking renderings of works by the likes of Alber to Giacometti and Jean Dubuffet fooled critics and collectors alike, with many of these counterfeit works finding their way into private collections and public institutions in the United Kingdom and abroad. Eventually the scheme
B I O G R A P H I C A L H I G H L I G H T S
2007 The Masters Collection, the debut collection for John Myatt at Castle Fine Ar t, UK 2009 A Brush with Fame, a Sky Ar ts series featuring the ar t of John Myatt 2010 From Monet to Matisse, solo exhibitions in Birmingham, Harrogate and Cardiff, UK 2011 Fame in the Frame, a Sky Ar ts series featuring the ar t of John Myatt 2012 Provenance, solo exhibition at Waterhall, Birmingham Museum & Ar t Gallery, UK 2013 Provenance, touring exhibition, UK 2013 Provenance, private reception and lecture at The Chester Grosvenor, UK 2014 Genuine Fakes, solo exhibitions in Bath, Birmingham, Chester, Guildford, London andWindsor, UK 2015 Genuine Fakes, solo exhibitions in Chester, Leeds and Newcastle, UK 2015 Fraud in Ar t, lecture and exhibition at Victoria Ar t Gallery, Bath, UK 2016 Monet in Majorca, solo exhibition and nationwide limited edition collection launch, UK 2017 Vincent, solo exhibition and nationwide limited edition collection launch, UK 2017 Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge, hosted by Giles Coren and art historian Rose Balston 2018 Fake or For tune, guest appearance on the BBC programme, interviewed by Fiona Bruce 2019 John Myatt, exhibitions and artist appearances in Stratford andWindsor, UK 2021 Genuine Fakes:The Hopper Collection, nationwide limited edition collection launch, UK
J O H N M Y A T T
The images contained within this literature are an ar tistic representation of the collection. To best experience our ar t, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. © Washington Green 2021. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no par t can be reproduced without prior permission.
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