Montagues Art gallery
Kings Langley, Hertfordshire
April 2023
Solo Exhibition
We were absolutely thrilled to showcase Scott Tetlow's full collection, featuring his iconic chimp family in all their guises and with their individual personalities.
Completely modern and original in their inception, there is an unreserved elegance to Scott's work.
Distinctive of the urban pop movement, Scott’s style is innovative and instantly recognisable, regardless of the subject matter. Scott lived in Taiwan for a time and his studies of calligraphy have greatly influenced his work. Chinese calligraphy is valued as ‘high art’, both for the beauty of its aesthetic form and its ability to express the inner beauty of the soul and spirit. Often, Chinese painters will say they are “writing a painting” and this is a concept that continues to shape Scott’s work to this day.
Through his love of calligraphy, Scott has developed a form of painting that is linear and yet absent of the constraints of calligraphy. Instead, it is imbued with a sense of freedom of movement, that is balanced and contained in considered composition. This movement adds to the illusion of life and spirit. There is a confidence of line, a strength in the flow of creation that adds to the energy of the artwork. Quite clearly there is an abstraction to the work, but there is a realism too that gives his chosen subjects personality and character that is unsurpassed.