Bruno David is pleased to present Painting and Drawing, an exhibition by Chicago-based artist Richard Hull. This will be Hull’s second exhibition with the gallery. In conjunction with the exhibition, Bruno David Gallery Publications will publish a catalogue of the works with an exhibition history and bibliography.

Richard Hull’s paintings fill their canvases with large swathes of color; blocks of opaque hues are overlaid with sweeping brushstrokes clustered together that function like non-transient ripples on the water, as rings within a tree, or of grooves on a record player as the latter description evokes the same feelings of growth that Hull’s painterly gestures achieve. The comparison describes the texture of thick paint upon the canvas some of the patterns, and the liveliness of the purposeful irregularities within Hull’s stroke.

Although Hull’s paintings are not traditional portraits, each artwork has a distinct feeling of character. Hull applies a layer of melted beeswax to his canvas before painting, making the rich colors found in his work possible. Then, he paints shapes of hot and cold colors against each other, creating a skewed sense of perspective. This confusion of space, in addition to Hull’s use of repeating lines and simplified shapes, keeps the viewer from identifying a clear subject. The general weight of the masses of shapes often resembles a portrait silhouette, suggesting a living presence.

Born in Oklahoma City, Hull received his B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute, and his M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Hull was represented by Phyllis Kind Gallery in 1979 (Chicago and New York City) and joined the company of well-known Imagists such as Roger Brown, Jim Nutt, Gladys Nilsson, and Ed Paschke. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally. His paintings may be found in many private and public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City; and the San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas.