Drawing from abstract and expressionist traditions and through intuitive use of colours and brush movements, Mark Millsted attempts to capture something the immediate, the fluid and the ambiguous. The objects in his paintings reveal themselves through the process of creation. Millsted’s work is urgent, ambitious, and dramatic. Paying tribute to Francisco Goya, Graham Sutherland, Francis Bacon, and Henry Fuseli –Millsted dives deeply into the most complex of aspects of subconsciousness.

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Using colour to reach realms beyond the visible, Millsted searches for the object’s expressive rather than mimetic purpose. He uses colour freely, in thick layers. His work reaches towards the observer, drawing the viewer into the painting. The viewer is invited to participate in creation of Millsted’s work, to find its own subject and meaning in colours and brush movements.

Born in Faversham, Mark Millsted now lives in Folkestone. He completed an illustration program at Norwich where he met mentors and friends whose work inspired him. His early work included landscapes and life drawing, however in Folkestone he grew critical of abstraction and started producing large-scale paintings that often feature distinctive objects and use contradictory palette. His work was exhibited in RA Summer Exhibition, Neil Gallery, Canterbury, Colorida Art Gallery in Lisbon, Lido Stores in Margate and most recently in Pictureum and Terrace Gallery, London.

Artworks