Planes, trains and automobiles—London-based artist Peregrine Heathcote will use whatever means of transportation are available to send his figures around the world. His new show, Peregrination, reflects this interest in travel, adventure and exotic destinations. 

“I interpret Peregrination as travels around the world; experiences, different places and settings. This takes after the connotations we associate with that of a Peregrine falcon, the fastest animal known to man, with the capabilities of traveling at speeds up to 200 mph, which enables it to circumnavigate the globe during different seasons,” the artist says. “The show consists of 10 pieces, with the theme being rather self-explanatory; although the styles of the works share no similarity, the phrase ‘luxe, calme et volupté’ comes to mind.” Rooftops, oil, 30 x 30"

Lift-Off!, oil, 36 x 36"

Luxe, calme et volupté is French for “luxury, peace and pleasure” and is, interestingly, also the title of a famous work by Henri Matisse. While Matisse was exploring a neo-impressionist sensibility, Heathcote is standing firmly within realism—though the two artists are linked through their strong sense of color. “The new work, I would say, is characterized by the lighter compositional colors,” Heathcote says. “In a world where a sense of darkness can become a common occurrence, it is pleasant to have outbursts of light in a utopian, idyllic scene.”

The artist paints his figure with their heads turned away, allowing the viewer to imagine themselves in the painting. “The viewer is able to subconsciously place themselves into the composition and think of how they would address and react to the scenario in the painting. It is not all about a specific person with a certain facial expression; there is room for the viewer to improvise, which I think is important,” he says, adding that the time period of the paintings is also somewhat ambiguous. “The present is within reach, achievable and accessible, but the past and the future are dates on a calendar, photographs in an album; they are not destinations but rather concepts of time produced by us. Anything can be drawn from any time or place, and I think it is a juxtaposition of these different periods, which enables a fluidity within the composition.”

On Safari, oil, 24 x 30"

One of the works in the show is Lift-Off!, which shows a man and a woman, both wearing straw hats—sometimes called boaters, a fitting name for an object in a Heathcote painting—as they stand next to a Mercedes-Benz with gull-wing doors as they admire a hot air balloon across a waterway. “The island is the Isle of Mull from Scotland, which is where I suppose the entirety of the composition revolves around,” Heathcote says. “Your eyes are then drawn to the hot air balloon, although its distance from the viewer and the two figures looking onward enables the viewer to create a scenario in their head. The only creation in the piece is the creation of ambiguity.”

Peregrination opens December 27, 2019, and continues through February 3. An opening reception will take place December 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. 

Bonner David Galleries  
7040 E. Main Street • Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 941-8500 • www.bonnerdavid.com

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