Lumen Gallery is delighted to present ‘Welcome To Shugville’ a solo exhibition of paintings by Hugh Somerville. This series of paintings in gouache and watercolour are eclectic in their imagery, exploring cultural and mythical references to create intriguing illustrations of an alternative world;

captured moments in a time and space which are strangely familiar yet distinctly other.

Hugh’s passion for walking has been heavily influential in the development of his artistic ideas. For Hugh, the pace and spontaneity of walking has revealed the value and joy of the unex-pected. Landscapes, derelict and aban-doned buildings, the chance spotting of wildlife, as well as the journey through the everyday lives of unfamiliar people and places are rooted in his psyche.

Time spent visiting cathedrals, abbeys and churches, has also allowed Hugh to imbibe the grotesque and heavenly imagery of medieval art and culture, which is manifest in his paintings.

Hugh studied at the acclaimed l’Atelier de la Bande - Dessinee in Angouleme, France where he exhib-ited and was published in the well known revue, Ego Comme X. In London the artist worked with award winning animator Run Wrake on his Keith Haring short for the band U2’s Popmart Tour. Hugh has had a total of three solo exhibi-tions in London and produced several art books. His exhibition and accompanying book ‘All that Id Is’ was commended in a personal letter from the legendary cartoonist Ralph Steadman.

Hugh takes inspiration from a wide variety of artistic and literary sources. Artistical-ly his influences range from the Northern Renaissance and Dutch Golden Age to Eu-ropean Symbolism and the underground comic scene of the 1970s/80s . His liter-ary influences are Franz Kafka, Maxim Gorky, Anton Chekhov and John Fowles.

Hugh is exhibiting in support of ART AGAINST KNIVES (AAK), a youth led charity working to reduce the root causes of knife crime through a variety of creative initiatives that provide an alterna-tive to violent gang culture. A portion of the proceeds of sales of work and limited edition prints will be donated to AAK to continue to facilitate creative opportunities for young people living in London.

www.hughsomerville@hotmail.comwww.shugville.comwww.artagainstknives.comwww.lumen.org.co.uk