Biography:
Established contemporary art star Nicolas Ruston is most renowned for his “scratch paintings” and “silicone paintings”, created using distinct materials such as MDF, household gloss, duct tape and silicone. He scratches into splattered layered paint with blades, scalpels and other surgical instruments. Drawing inspiration from popular culture, the media and commercial products Ruston’s work often portrays the mass media as a dystopic environment where contradiction reigns. In his work fiction shapes reality, travesty reveals truth, and beauty resides in the tawdry and the illicit.
Gallery Nosco are pleased to present a number of previously unseen new works by the artist; including the fundamental collages that essentially dissect the thought process behind the creation of his infamous scratch-paintings and are vital in their role in the creation of the originals.
Two of Ruston's latest paintings entitled: The Superficial Transparency Of Everything: Scratch-Painting and Consumption: Scratch-Painting are featured in the upcoming movie 'Dead Man Running' starring Danny Dyer and 50 Cent (cinema release November 2009).
The artist states: 'Western society is obsessed with image. Style is more important than substance. Vanity wins over health. My work peels away the facade; it questions concepts such as beauty, truth and love. Are they real? Or are they the constructs of a society that dictates our values and controls our Beliefs?'
Nicolas Ruston has featured in numerous exhibitions across the world and in London; his art is held in private and corporate collections around the world. He lives and works in London and creates in his studios in the countryside.
Exhibitions:
2009 - July, Gallery Nosco/Blakemore, London
2009 - June, Harrods Charity Event, Gallery Nosco, Kent
2009 - HOF96 Gallery, Berlin
2009 - County Hall Gallery, London
2009 - The Ivy Club, London
2009 - Artrepublic Soho, London
2007 - Tower of London
2007 - The Smithfield Gallery, London
2008 - Maddox Arts, London
2008 - Golden sq, London
2008 - Adam Street, London
2001 - SAK, London
2001 - Savoy, London
2001 - Gallery K, London
2000 - Ten Room, London
2000 - AKA, London
2000 - NEC, Birmingham
1999 - Gallery K, London
1999 - Harrods Gallery, London
1998 - Hampton Court Gallery, London
1996 - Hyde Park Gallery, London