Self-portrait by Richard Mort
Painter, Richard Mort, was born in Birkenhead in 1948, but has lived in Bradford since 1977. His subjects include abstract works, often involving multiple canvases, as well representational portraiture.
Declining Shells. Image: courtesy of the artist
He attended the Birkenhead Institute until the age of 16, then studied on the art foundation course at the Laird School of Art, Birkenhead. He then studied Textiles and Fashion at Camberwell School of Arts and Craft, London, gaining his Dip.AD (Diploma in Art & Design) 2.1 Hons. in 1970.
‘Scaffold’.
Richard says of the above recent artwork that has links with his time at Camberwell, :
It is a development of my theme of treating the canvas as a three-dimensional object in space, to be carved into and applique-ed on. It is a development of my time at Camberwell School of Art & Crafts in London, where I trained as a textile artist as well as a woven designer.
After Camberwell, Richard moved to the University of Leeds to train as an industrial designer and gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Textile Design in 1971.
I did so well in my Diploma the professor offered me a free scholarship for a year to study knitted textile design. In 1971 I was awarded a Commendation for woven fabrics in the Textile Institute Design Competition. In 1972 I was awarded top prize for knitted fabric design in the Textile Institute Design Competition. I am the only student to accomplish this.
In 1972, Richard entered the textile industry, working as a woven fabric designer, designing couture dress fabrics, furnishing and upholstery fabrics. He moved to Bradford in 1977 to work at a local mill designing contract and domestic upholstery fabrics.
In 1991 he returned to higher education to study again at postgraduate level and later gained a M.Phil (Master of Philosophy) in his chosen study area, textiles.
Compendium 1. Image: courtesy of the artist.
Richard continued to work in the textile design field, but by 2000, the textile industry in Bradford was rapidly collapsing:
I was forced to take any job to put food on the table. I found a job in the food industry where I worked until 2006 until forced to give up work due to serious illness.
I started taking up painting in 2005 as occupational therapy and soon got involved in devoting my life to art. I try and paint every day trying to experiment with different contexts of what a painted canvas entails, mainly involving abstract idioms, carving and appliqué-ing into the surface using multiple canvases. I continue to experiment in my work and regularly exhibit at the Unit 9 Gallery in Thornton in Bradford. As an opposite foil to my abstract work I paint representational portraits.
Examples of artist’s portrait paintings below:
Dot & Peter. Refectory, Bradford College.
The Wiggins Family
Reverend Canon Stephen Treasure in St. Oswald’s church in Little Horton
Richard’s work has been shown across the Bradford district, including at Bradford and Shipley libraries, Saltaire Arts Trail, and at the South Square Art Centre in Thornton, who hosted his solo show ‘Metamorphoses’ in 2015.
The South Square, Unit 9 Gallery, also hosted his solo show, ‘Symbiosis’, 7-29th July 2018: a collection of paintings investigating the canvas as a three-dimensional object in space, and particularly emphasising the relationship between colour and space.
Spiro 2. Image: courtesy of the artist
Artist Contact: Facebook
Other work by Richard Mort can be found on Painters Online (Search: Richard Mort)