Kurt Engledow is a Perth based artist currently exploring themes of nostalgia, sexuality and masculinity through found and discarded photographs. Although relatively disinterested in publicity, his work has been exhibited in London, UK and Perth, Australia and can be purchased from Bluethumb.com.
Kurt has been painting since he was a child. He would spend hours watching his father paint in his studio and was in awe of the detail he would include in his work. His father taught him how to draw and use oil paint when he was still very young.
As a teenager, he discovered that he could get out of Physical Education at school by finishing off his paintings in the back of the art room whilst the teacher taught another class.
‘I still have that wonderful teacher to thank for not only encouraging me with art but also for my lack of sporting prowess’.
After a few years enjoying the London life, he gained a place at Goldsmith's College where he studied Art and Education.
Kurt’s paintings have contemporary cinematic quality whilst incorporating elements of neo realism. Depicting scenes from a perceived golden era, of people living everyday lives during the 1940s to 1960s, the observer is encouraged to draw a direct comparison to contemporary life. In making these comparisons, we temporarily resurrect the people depicted and confront the transient nature of living and reflect upon our individual legacies within the duration of time we inhabit.
In his current work, Kurt explores the subtleties of human emotional responses and captures people ‘caught in a moment’. These images invite the observer to question and explore the stories captured on canvas.
Kurt is influenced by a wide variety of artists including Alex Katz, Edward Hopper, Felix Vallotton and Richie Fahey. Like those artists, he prefers to use a limited colour palette with each colour and tone being carefully considered to create emotion and atmosphere whilst referencing mid- century flavours.