Nestled deep within Chelsea's Flood Street lie the beautiful Rossetti studios. One of these is owned by Kay Saatchi and, as you step from a tiny, dark corridor into her private space, you find yourself engulfed with light and faced with the breathtaking work of Hugo Dalton.
With Saatchi as his patron, Dalton's first solo exhibition is a site specific painting. "Life Stilled . . . earth moving" is an exploration of chaotic, man-made urban dwellings and the effects that living in such surroundings has on city dwellers. Using Piccadilly Circus as the main crux of this exploration, Dalton's work is a juxtaposition of the tourist attraction's metal, neon structure interspersed with orchids and other organic, totally natural imagery, such as passion flowers. Fittingly, "Life Stilled . . . earth moving" is on during the Chelsea Flower show and is sponsored in part by Farrow and Ball who will be showcasing there.
Although his work is loaded with powerful social statement on our surroundings and the impact these have on us, the overall effect of Dalton's work is stunning and overtly tranquil. One is calmed by his creations, rather than hyped by what he is saying with each collage and the tranquillity of the Rossetti studios couldn't be a more perfect setting for his collages. As Dalton said, "I wanted to take something that everyone's seen and knows and just change it slightly. It's my first show so I don't want to overcomplicate it." His work seems to be very much about looking at something really beautiful and not just the conceptual exploration behind it.
When one sees his work up close it's almost impossible to imagine how such a thing was created: "The technique I've used is really just about getting my drawing on the wall as precisely as possible because it's such an unexplored realm. You see so many classic Italian murals but that's why there is no colour in (my work) - because I wanted to distance myself from that tradition." Each piece can be replicated due to the way in which he makes them and they are available in other colours but they're only ever one colour in form. The images can be adjusted to fit walls of different sizes so they're recyclable in some senses, again echoing the natural element of his work, both aesthetically and conceptually.
Dalton's passion is unmistakable when he describes his work and the process, the wall being part of the art and not just a tool for hanging it. "I just really like the interaction of working directly on walls." The piece, mirrored on two opposite walls in the studio, is very much about looking at something really beautiful and not just the concept behind it. Although Piccadilly Circus may not be an entity that conjures images of pleasure and natural beauty, Dalton's work is visually enticing and utterly unique: "It's about the way we interact with our environment. I guess I chose Piccadilly Circus because it's so totally opposite to the space that we have here - it's public and big and this is exclusive and quiet.I've taken Piccadilly Circus and where there should be adverts, I placed my drawings of plants (such as bee orchids.) It's a comment about advertising. Piccadilly Circus is our modern day cave drawing - if you imagine I'm drawing on a cave it's our modern version - it's all about display and caption."
"Life Stilled...earth moving" runs Monday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm until May 28th at No. 1 Rossetti Studios, 72 Flood Street, Chelsea, SW3.
