Officescape
1998.19
In Officescape, painter Phil Richards presents us a with a seemingly mundane office scene set in the 1980s. Despite its humble subject matter, the artist manages to make this everyday scene feel monumental. How does he do it?
In the 1980’s Richards became known for using a photo-realist style to create paintings that blended iconic works of art with portraits of friends and family. In this work, which at first appears to be a casual office conversation, the positioning and gestures of the figures refer directly to Renaissance composition. The artist enhances this effect by incorporating three dimensional elements in his paintings, such as the lilies and the coffee cup in the foreground.
This ability to disrupt the boundary between the everyday and the formidable, the real and the imaginary, the past and the present, is a unique characteristic of Richards’ work.
About Phil Richards
Born in Toronto in 1951, Phil Richards is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art. He has worked full-time as a visual artist for over 40 years, participated in numerous solo and group shows and has been commissioned to create work for prominent venues such as The Congress Centre (Ottawa), and The Eaton Centre (Toronto).
Richards is also an accomplished portrait artist and in 2011 he was commissioned by Canada to paint a new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The portrait was unveiled at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 6, 2012.