| Richard Hall is the kind of artist who refuses to fit into a category. He works not only in the media of serigraphy, monoprinting, and etching, but he creates large wall reliefs and freestanding steel sculptures as well, and he paints in acrylics and in other media on large canvases. Some of his works display remarkable depth and antiquity, others possess a style both romantic and timeless, and still others are minimalist and ethereal. The single quality common to all of his works is that they are universally and enthusiastically sought. Among Richard Hall's enthusiasts are many corporate and public collectors, including the Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza (New York), Christies Contemporary Art (New York), Princess Cruise Ship Lines (Milano), Wardeh Gimtex (Saudi Arabia), Caesar's Lake Tahoe (Nevada), Hyatt Wiakalea (Hawaii), Hughes Aircraft Corporation Headquarters (San Diego), Sunland Development (San Diego), Arizona Commission for the Arts (Phoenix), Hyatt Regency (Denver), and the Brayton International Collection (High Point, South Carolina). While his exhibitions are too numerous to list fully, among the largest are Los Angeles Artexpo, New York Artexpo, Tokyo International Art Show, Miami International Art Exposition, Art Asia Hong Kong, Art Detour (Phoenix), and Designers' Showcase House. Hall was born in 1952 in Bradford, Yorkshire, the industrial heart of northern England. He attended both the Sheffield College of Art and the Kingston-upon-Hull College of Art, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting in 1976. After earning his Master of Fine Arts from Sussex University, he left England for warmer climates, ending up in the Southwest United States where he pursued the arts of painting and sculpture. In addition to creating his own artwork, he has worked as an Art Director for the last few years, thereby affecting the careers of young artists under his tutelage and reaping the fulfilling rewards of close interaction with these artists. This has proven to be a catalyst for his own artwork, propelling it in new and wholly unexpected directions. As a boy growing up in England, Hall spent many hours watching his grandfather create fine furniture. The man was a master craftsman, employing traditional tools and working methods handed down through generations. He passed on to me to joy of creat-ing something unique. I carry on these traditions in my own work. Today as an adult, he views himself as actually building a painting, in perfect analogy to his grandfather building furniture. As I 'build' a painting or sculpture, it is often the actual working methods that I am most drawn to. As I learned to finish fine furniture with layer upon layer of polish and wax, so I now find myself working with layer upon layer of texture and color. This method of working triggers memories and feelings that I channel into my art, and it enables me to give form to my ideas. |
