Simon Cunniffe

Artist Brief: I try to reverse colour theory. The highly dominant, rich, warm red is used as a background. This forces the subject matter, to be powerful enough to push this back. I try and combine high gloss with rich impasto oil focus points to heighten this process. The majority of my subjects are landscape based or pieces of human engineering. Everyday structures are used, that are highly functional but have an aesthetic sculptural quality. For example The Red series of paintings.

Work Brief: Simon Cunniffe graduated from De Montfort University, Leicester, with a BA Joint Hons in Fine Art and History of Art (1996) and Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Canterbury Christ Church University (1999). He is now Head of Sixth Form Art and Textiles at the Towers School, in Kent. He has exhibited throughout the South East, London, the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2007 (Pier 1) and was one of the key feature artists for the Canterbury Festival of Art 2007, having large exhibition at the Marlowe. Simon's canvas work is rooted in industrial landscape.

There is a strong emphasis on highly engineered, everyday structures. These rich, high gloss, usually red backgrounds that play with the rules of colour theory. Textures and tones work off each other creating very bright, impactive paintings that leave subtlety behind. Much of his work has a strong sense of perspective linking back to his interest in architecture, more precisely Victorian engineering and the High Tech style of the late 1980's.

Permanent British Gas Retail Headquaters, DMU Student Competition
Aug 2005 Phoenix Arts, Leicester, Solo Show
Aug 2006 Canterbury Museum And Art Gallery, Joint Show
Nov 2006 Horsebridge Gallery Whitstable, Joint Show
Mar 2007 Kingshead Gallery Wye, Solo Show
2007 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
Sept 2007 Canterbury Festival, Marlowe Theatre, Selected Works, Solo Exhibition
2008 Hampshire Art Fair
2008 Canterbury City Council Boardrooms, Solo