Artist Phil Shaw is perhaps best known for his trademark bookshelf works - one of which was commissioned as a gift for world leaders at the 2013 G8 summit - but the Huddersfield-born print-maker enjoys tackling all manner of subject matter.
The full extent of his artistic interests will be revealed at a major retrospective exhibition of Dr Shaw’s work, ‘Let Me Out, I Haven’t Finished Yet’, opening later this month (May 24) at the Artworks 1830 Gallery in Shaw Lodge Mill, Halifax. Despite his strong ties with West Yorkshire, where he was raised and educated, it will be the first time he has exhibited here for 38 years.
From cartoon-like penguins to detailed Grecian pots, Dr Shaw’s contemporary work is painstakingly crafted at high magnification using digital technology to produce thought-provoking, often humorous, images.
Of his work he says: “My world, the world beyond the picture plane, abounds with strange coincidences, contradictions and paradoxes; it’s where I live.” Celebrity collectors of his work include Jeremy Paxman, Lee Evans, Jack Dee, Derren Brown and Anthony Horrowitz.
A former student at Leeds College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, Dr Shaw has taught print-making at the Middlesex University since 1980 and can look back on more than 45 years as an artist.
He recently held solo exhibitions in both London and New York, but closer to home his work can be found hanging in the John Smith’s Stadium on Leeds Road in Huddersfield.
He was asked to design the supporter’s Roll of Honour for Huddersfield Town, which was unveiled by actor Reece Dindale in 2006.
Dr Shaw’s retrospective in Halifax will offer the rare opportunity to see one of his G8 bookshelf works, which now hang in The White House, The Kremlin, The Elysee Palace and Downing Street, and opens on Sunday, May 25.
He will be delivering a public lecture in the gallery, which is near The Shay Stadium, in June.
The 1830 Gallery, sited in the former textile mill and above independent art school The Artworks, will be open Thursday to Saturday from 11am until 4pm and from noon until 4pm on Sundays. The exhibition closes on July 6.
For further details check out www.theartworks.org.uk or www.philshawonline.com
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