Peter Kinley

Osborne Samuel opened this important exhibition of Peter Kinley's work in May 2006. This will be the first substantial showing of the artist's work in London since the Tate showed a group of recent acquisitions of his work in 1994. Peter Kinley's work is held in numerous private and public collections in the UK and abroad including: the British Council, Tate, the Arts Council, the Imperial War Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. This new exhibition provided an overview of Kinley's work and emphasised Osborne Samuel's continued commitment to Modern British art. It followed on from the gallery's acclaimed Nine Abstract Artists exhibition in 2005. The catalogue consists of over 30 works by Peter Kinley and explores chronologically his early work typified by paintings such as "Figure with Mirror and Easel, 1962". It goes on to look at his post-1965 painting which underwent a dramatic stylistic and philosophical shift. At this time he moved away from thicker paint and studio based subjects, towards a flatter, more hieratic style. He began to summarise his experience of subject in bold, pared-down compositions.
Throughout his life, Kinley was interested in the wider debates around contemporary art and his personal shift to a more rigorous way of working exemplified by "House with Two Gables" (1981) and "Room", (1982) reflect for example his interest in new developments in American painting. The Catalogue include two essays, "The Past as a Foreign Country: Pater Kinley's early life" by Catherine Kinley and "Genius" by Norbert Lynton and some unique photographs taken by the photographer and friend of Peter Kinley JC Blake.