Artist channels energy into art and punchbag
‘BOLD and emotionally charged with raw imagery’ is the description often afforded to the work of the figurative painter Francis Bacon.
These words sprang to mind when I first entered Richard Fitton’s studio in Rochdale and encountered his paintings, which are on view on easels and standing against walls.
Some finished, some not, Richard is in the process of selecting which of them to show at his upcoming solo exhibition.
Richard was born in Oldham where he took external art classes under the tutelage of the well-known Oldham landscape painter, John McCombs.
He went on to achieve a first-class degree in fine art at Loughborough University.
While still a student, he became the youngest ever member of the Manchester Academy of fine art in its 150-year history.
On leaving university he moved to Sheffield, where he established his first studio before, in 2016, moving to his new home and establishing his new studio in Rochdale.
Richard’s studio is still under development, but even at this early stage it has taken on the essential energy, vibrancy and chaos that flow from Richard’s restless imagination.
In 2001, Francis Bacon’s studio was relocated from London to Dublin and opened to the public.
I would be amazed if people aren’t flocking to Richard’s studio in the near future.
The walls of his studio are splattered with the by-products of his bursts of creative energy, the canvases throbbing with the life force of the people they depict.
In the corner of one room hangs a punchbag that takes the brunt of moments of frustration and barely contained creative energy.
His work has been exhibited around the country including at Manchester Academy of Fine Art Exhibitions, Empty-Gallery, Holme and From The Studio Floor, Cambridge Guildhall.
In January this year Richard sold well at the London Art Fair, fittingly exhibited alongside pictures by Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg and John Bellany.
His main gallery representation is the highly-regarded Castlegate House Gallery in Cockermouth, Cumbria.
Richard has his first solo show at the gallery Relating to People, which will be starting on April 8 and running until April 29.
I shall be bringing to this page the outcomes of my interview with Richard and a review of his exhibition.
At the tender age of 26, Richard is already considered to be one of the UK’s most exciting