“I am highlighting and exaggerating this process of gentrification.”
Cartoon houses – a recognisable representation
Richard Woods uses installations in cartoon colours to satirise the housing crisis. Leaning on his previous career as a builder, the artist transforms everyday surfaces into playful and exaggerated cartoon versions. This process involves overlapping objects with statement, painted-on textures. Much of this is done through woodblock printing, using household gloss paint and 3mm MDF boards. He has likened his bright palette to the plastic-like colours of his parents' garish 1970s decor. Often executed on his studio floor, he creates graphic textures such as bricks, stones and wood grain. Despite...
Bio
Richard Woods (he/him) was born in 1966 in Chester, England. He now lives and works in London.
Materials
In his youth, Woods would drag raw materials from skips to produce his works. He called it a form of ‘urban recycling’. He now buys his materials from building merchants and timber yards.
Career
In 2010, Woods was invited to transform part of Cary Grant’s previous Hollywood home for the new owner, art dealer Jeffrey Deitch. He created a party room, clad in bright blue wood-grain effect panels.
