Humphrey Ocean

Humphrey Ocean RA is a British artist who has been creating art for over five decades. His work includes portraits, prints, sculptures, books, and drawings. In 2019, his exhibition "Birds, Cars, and Chairs" is on display at the Royal Academy of Arts. Ocean's art is appealing and universal because of its subjects, which are ancient, modern, and intimate.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 01 September 2019
Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts

Over five decades, the painter Humphrey Ocean RA's work has permeated our national culture. This includes his series of portraits titled A Handbook of Modern Life displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2013; his portrait of Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts; and the cover of Sir Paul McCartney's 2007 album Memory Almost Full, which featured one of the Chair series. Ocean's practice encompasses painting, printmaking, sculpture, book-making, and drawing. Of the latter, he has said: "Paper is lovely, immediate, and personal. I draw as an end in itself." In 2019, his exhibition Birds, Cars, and Chairs is on display at the Royal Academy of Arts. Of these subjects, he says: "Birds, cars, and chairs are, in that order, ancient, modern, and intimate. Without them, life would be a lot less bearable." These works are reproduced alongside others in the book to provide a fascinating overview of Ocean's career, with an essay by Ben Thomas, which sets out to discover exactly what it is that makes Ocean's art so appealing and universal.

Over five decades, the painter Humphrey Ocean RA's work has permeated our national culture. This includes his series of portraits titled A Handbook of Modern Life displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in 2013; his portrait of Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts; and the cover of Sir Paul McCartney's 2007 album Memory Almost Full, which featured one of the Chair series. Ocean's practice encompasses painting, printmaking, sculpture, book-making, and drawing. Of the latter, he has said: "Paper is lovely, immediate, and personal. I draw as an end in itself." In 2019, his exhibition Birds, Cars, and Chairs is on display at the Royal Academy of Arts. Of these subjects, he says: "Birds, cars, and chairs are, in that order, ancient, modern, and intimate. Without them, life would be a lot less bearable." These works are reproduced alongside others in the book to provide a fascinating overview of Ocean's career, with an essay by Ben Thomas, which sets out to discover exactly what it is that makes Ocean's art so appealing and universal.

Weight: 2048g
Dimension: 306 x 249 x 42 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781912520268