‘Artie’ is a striking original painting by contemporary artist Simon Kirk.
This piece of art comes from a series of oil paintings that have derived from “Claude” sold on the opening night of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2015
These paintings have simple compositions, limited palettes and deal primarily with the notion of solitude.
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“I initially intended this piece to be a minimal painting of an artist in his studio. However, as I painted I was listening to a radio discussion on poverty. I began thinking of the different way poverty is perceived. The romantic notion of the penniless artist means it’s almost like proof of integrity, compared to the portrayal of the poor as feckless and lazy. I added a teacup to his table, rather than a glass of wine. It could still be an artist in his Parisienne garret, but it could also be a man in a room somewhere in England.”