Due to popular demand, masters of the ‘pop-up’, JP Art Gallery are delighted to announce the opening of a permanent venue in London’s popular Battersea.

The first exhibition in their new venue will be works by prize winning painter Benjamin Hope. He will present his debut solo exhibition from 12 – 25 November, 2015.

Benjamin works mainly in oil but also charcoal, pastel and pencil and divides his time between still life, plein air impressionism, portraits, and figure studies. For his exhibition he has painted key London spots, such as Westminster, The City, Kings Cross, Clapham and various London bridges.

He cites influences ranging from contemporary UK Artists, Peter Brown, Ken Howard and Tom Coates for his plein air paintings, Caravaggio for his still lifes and his portraits are inspired by the works of David Leffel, Rembrandt and Kyffin Williams.

''My techniques depend strongly on genre. Outside, I work quickly to capture light before it has changed altogether, whereas in the studio I can spend hundreds of hours studying fine details on the surface of an object.

Portraiture has an extra level significance for me owing to a long-held interest in the Philosophy of Mind. I am only happy with a portrait if I can really sense there is human agency on the canvas—and not just any: a specific person. At present I am developing a technique in which I apply paint exclusively with a palette knife, making some areas highly impasto whilst leaving others thin enough to scratch through to the canvas. I find this allows me quickly to vary the focus and degree of realism to suit the subject.'' - Benjamin Hope