Gerard Hemsworth – Desert Edge

In his work, Hemsworth brings together signs and representations of modernist art, alongside and integrated with, signs and representations from what seem like cartoon narratives, presenting pictorial and ideological contradictions. What initially seems like a straightforward representation of something familiar, unproblematic, simple and innocent is undermined and consequently presents the possibility of picturing something we don’t fully understand. Contradictions between the serious and the absurd become both uncanny and subversive. For Hemsworth the ‘unknown’ is an essential element and a necessary feature for critical engagement. His work presents anxieties, notions of difference and indifference and the question of value.

Gerard Hemsworth was born in London in 1945, from 1963-68 he studied at St Martin’s School of Art, London and has exhibited internationally since the 70’s. Up until 2011 he was Professor of Fine Art and the Director of MFA Fine Art Programme at Goldsmiths, University of London. In 2000 he won the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy of Arts. In 2010 he moved his studio from London to East Sussex where he now lives and works.

Gerard passed away on the 15th of February, therefore his limited edition prints are not signed, however they are numbered and come with a Certificate of Authenticity issued by Solaris.