Chrissie Hynde Announces New Exhibition ‘Hynde Sight – Recent Paintings’
Chrissie Hynde has announced Hynde Sight, an exhibition of her latest paintings. Opening on 21 November and running until 14 December 2024 at 4 Cromwell Place, London SW7 2JE, this new collection abounds with colour, texture and urgency, showcasing Hynde’s dynamic still life, abstract work and self-portraits in vibrant oils.
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Over 60 recent works will be available for public viewing, each piece a testament to her gutsy and beautiful style, incorporating a wide variety of subjects. Table furniture, flowers and instruments shudder out of their surroundings, full of boldness and light. Hynde’s self-portraits blaze with profound vulnerability and power. Paintings of dear friends including Brian Eno and Paul Weller sit amongst her abstract work too, each image crackling with energy and curiosity.
The Hynde Sight exhibition is arranged in association with Broadbent Gallery, and will follow the recent showing of Chrissie Hynde’s paintings at the 2024 British Art Fair at Saatchi Gallery.
Images of nearly 200 of Chrissie Hynde’s original artworks were published in the 2018 book Adding The Blue, via Genesis Publications. Presenting the first chronology of Chrissie’s paintings, the book’s foreword by the Royal Academy’s Artistic Director, Tim Marlow, reads: “The fact that Chrissie is a great musician underpins her painting in a variety of ways. She learns by doing and in the process her work becomes more distinctive and compelling, an expression of the life force within made visible.”
For Hynde, painting has become a vital part of her creative life. In the last six years, her artwork has been exhibited to acclaim in London, New York and Massachusetts. It has graced the sleeve of her 2019 album of cover versions, Valve Bone Woe, her arresting patterns and strokes mirroring the musical interpretations inside. Her vibrant geometric shapes and images of hands were used as motifs on garments in Vivienne Westwood’s Spring-Summer 2021 collection. Chrissie has kept on making music and touring with The Pretenders, in parallel to her painting. Her art is art to look at, listen to, wear and experience; her painting is just one part of her wider, richer, creative life.
Hynde’s peerless songwriting career with the Pretenders is a story that began in 1978 and is still evolving. The band’s latest album release, 2023’s Relentless, was them “at their melodic best” according to The Guardian. Their prolific live shows continue to be heralded as performances of “delicate beauty and thundering power” (Evening Standard). The band will soon embark upon a sold out tour across the UK through October, including three nights at London’s Palladium theatre.
Opening hours for Hynde Sight – Recent Paintings are from 11:00 – 19:00 Tuesday to Saturday, and 11:00 – 16:00 on Sunday. The exhibition is free to enter. For further event details, please visit www.chrissiehynde.art.