ROSE WYLIE

In Rose Wylie’s work, people, animals and objects–unlabored, but very complete–combine with patches of colour and bits of painted text. These elements come from a variety of sources: cinema, newspapers, tabloids, television, art history, and people she meets. Often working from memory, Wylie is not interested in overarching themes or stories–her focus is on the particular, the detail, the specific visual moment that made an emotional impact and stuck in her mind.

An important aspect of Wylie’s work is her unusual use of paper, which she collages to expand the surface of a drawing, correct it, or emphasise a certain area. By covering ‘mistakes’ with pieces of paper on which she makes her revisions, she also highlights her process of gradually finding the rendition closest to her recollection. This, along with the immediacy and freedom of Wylie’s lines and brushstrokes, conveys a peculiar balance between the casual and the considered. She has the sense to know exactly when an imperfection needs correcting, and when it is just right.

Rose Wylie (b. 1934, Kent, UK) attended the Folkestone & Dover School of Art until 1956 and received her MA from the Royal College of Art, London in 1981. She has had numerous solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2015); Städtische Galerie, Wolfsburg (2014); Tate Britain (2013); The Haugar Museum, Tønsberg (2013); and Jerwood Gallery, Hastings (2012). Gallery solo exhibitions include Choi&Lager Galerie, Cologne (2014); Michael Janssen, Berlin (2013); Regina Gallery, Moscow (2011 and 2012); and Union Gallery, London (2006 onwards). Her work is included in public collections such as the Arts Council of England; Contemporary Art Society, London; Jerwood Foundation; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Norwich Gallery; Tate Britain; and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The artist lives and works in Newnham-Sittingbourne, United Kingdom.