Gary Hume | Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert and Sprüth Magers
I’m not sure why there are two Gary Hume shows open currently, one each side of Piccadilly, but I’m not complaining. His serene works on aluminium, executed with unmixed household gloss paint, are unmistakably his, standing apart from his brasher 90s YBA counterparts. As demonstrated by the two exhibitions - one, focusing on the early works at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert; the other, of new work, at Sprüth Magers - Hume’s style has been consistent since he came to fame, though the mediums he uses have broadened out a bit.
So, the new paintings on aluminium are untitled, and focus on depictions of flowers and birds. The palette is sober: greens and greys predominate. The paintings are joined by a few charcoal and pastel on canvas works, of the same subjects. The necks of Hume’s swans are elongated and sinuous, their heads reduced to their essential forms. It’s as quietly self-restrained as he’s ever been.
Manly (1994)
Back to the 90s and over the road, the colours are brighter and the paintings have actual titles, but the self-restraint is already there. Manly, pictured above, was the standout. The just-about-legible figures are a single, relentless, glossy colour: yellow and brown. The background is a dirty pink. As usual, Hume’s brush has worried the profile of the paint, creating patterns against the metal.
It’s illegible in the image above, but I’m sure I saw flowers in that dirty pink background: a connecting line to the floral works he’s still executing, more than two decades later. A semi-hidden pattern that can only be deciphered close up. A whisper in paint.
Such quietude was drowned out at the time: Manly appeared originally in the infamously controversial 1997 YBA-led Sensation exhibition at the Royal Academy. But it’s unsurprising to me that this durable Dulux paint lasted a long time after that controversy died down, and we can view it once more, now.
Gary Hume: Mirrors and other creatures is at Sprüth Magers (London). 13 September - 19 October 2024. Gary Hume: This Way / That Way is at Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert (London). 13 September - 26 October 2024