In Hurvin Anderson’s landscapes and interiors, light breaks in from unexpected places, abstract motifs disrupt figurative scenes, and artefacts of technique such as stencil marks are left visible. Even when his paintings seem distanced from the viewer – as in the Welcome series (2004–08), in which Anderson, inspired by security bars he had seen on visits to Jamaica and Trinidad, layers grille-like structures over interior scenes – the vivid colours and enigmatic, fragmented backgrounds pull us in. Anderson’s first major retrospective brings together some 80 works that make the case for the artist being one of Britain’s most important living painters (26 March–23 August). It gives a sense of his longstanding interest in dislocation, belonging and individual and cultural memory, from early works in the 1990s right up to Passenger Opportunity (2024–25), a 24-panel piece inspired by murals at the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica and presented here for the first time in the UK.
Find out more from the Tate’s website.
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