Sandra Higgins is pleased to announce the exhibition for architect, artist Tom Pike. International in scope and contemporary in style, Pike has always merged his architectural eye with a fine artists' sensibility. Incidents and Accidents brings together Pikes totally fresh work for his inaugural debut to the art scene. He presents works that are built in a collage style, simultaneously structured and chaotic. Uncompromising and bold, exuding sheer power and conviction, Tom Pike’s images harness a frenetic energy unleashed by colour.

As a graduate in both fine art and design, Pike has created a career bridging the two disciplines. In the early 1970’s he worked with international designer John Stenfanidis on a myraid of projects including the recording studios for the Island Records label. Throughout his time there he was greatly impressed by Stenfanidis’ architectural style which combined vibrant colours, proportionality, and urban charm. Pike soon moved on to work directly with Sir Hugh Casson and Neville Conder at Casson Conder and Partners. Thoroughly convinced of his love for building and design Pike returned to school, and in 1979 qualified as an architect from Kingston University. He promptly went on to set up a private practice working on projects for fashion group Chelsea Girl, publishing house Faber and Faber, Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Really Useful Group, and The Royal Institute of British Architects. He now specialises in high quality modernist houses and apartments. His eclectic and sophisticated aesthetic drives his work forward as a milestone in the growth of contemporary design.

Controlling and exploiting chaos is perhaps what my work is all about. This is in direct contrast to my architectural work where I try to prevent chaos from making its presence felt - Tom Pike

The work presented in Incidents and Accidents represents Pikes fascination with the accidental nature of painting. His process is about embracing the unknown. His work has an underlying geometrical structure, yet that structure becomes quickly covered by exuberant diagonal lines, wisps of bright colours, and organic shapes. Looking to artists such as Jackson Pollock and Hans Hoffman, Pike seeks to understand the contradictions to the process of art production. Pollock strove to add action into his paintings. He too explored how one could show the viewer not a tidy end product, but a wonderfully raw creative process. Han Hoffman was intrigued by the magic of opposing forces: pushing and pulling. He understood these counter forces as the tools which an artist must use in order to give the viewer an experience of depth and motion. Pike counteracts structure with organic forms, urging the viewer into a state of uncertainty. Pike extends the idea of viewer participation, and deepens the idea of the artistic process.