New Paul McGowan show at Eden

Inspired by Eden, a new work by acclaimed British artist Paul McGowan is being staged in the spectacular surroundings of the Mediterranean Biome as part of a 12-month residency.

The first installation will feature two huge paintings suspended from the Biome’s roof structure and 12 new works on easels.

Heralding the show as a major event for Eden, creative director Peter Hampel said: “Paul is throwing himself into a long residency here with a potent brew of amazing energy, ambition and creativity and a desire to help illuminate and draw attention to key Eden concepts.

“To have an artist of Paul’s calibre engaging with Eden in this way is incredibly exciting and will add to the richness of the experience for our visitors.

“He has deliberately chosen to collaborate with a project that celebrates creativity at every turn but is not just directed at an arts audience.

“He has been attracted by the huge cross section of people that flows through the project and by the unique quality of the physical spaces and the creative opportunities they afford an artist who is prepared to stretch his imagination to the maximum.”

Peter Hampel added: “In an extraordinary act of generosity Paul has donated 12 months of his precious time to Eden as well as the proceeds from key paintings to support our education programmes. We are very grateful to him and his collaborators and really excited that he has chosen Eden for his first major show in ten years.”

Brought up in Margate, Kent, Paul left school at 15 with no qualifications. He joined the Parachute Regiment and after his service he was recruited by fashion designer Paul Smith to work in his London store. He went on to work for many of the most recognisable names including Gianni Versace. He is the youngest ever designer to have sold a collection at prestigious London fashion house Browns at the tender age of 20.

He had his first major show at the Salthouse Gallery in St Ives in 1996 while still a student in his first year at Falmouth School of Art. He went on to study at Loughborough and Winchester schools of art and Bath Spa University.

Career highlights include “Conforming the Organic” for the Oliver Holt gallery in 2005 and “Past perfect” at the Oliver Holt gallery and Open House. He co-founded Shrimpton and Bolas in 2000 with Peter Linnet and was artist curator of Tic Toc in 1997. He won The Tate magazine student award while studying Sculpture at Winchester, under Professor John Gibbons and Jim Unsworth. Two memorable shows were White On White at the Salthouse Gallery St Ives in 1996 and Honk If You're Horny at the Salthouse in 2001.

Paul McGowan said of his new works to be shown at Eden: “They are in one way or another all confronting issues that reflect the idea of a species living on the edge. Their existence is controlled and defined by mankind.

“Mixed in among the wildlife paintings you have the abstract mask paintings that have been pieced together from anatomical elements of extinct or endangered animals. These paintings are all about our awareness and feelings of guilt and responsibility.

“The mask paintings are very sensitive in the way they portray our anguish. They also inform us in a very confrontational way that our collective conscious is out of our control and that we are not spiritually at peace within it. They separate us from the world and give us a chance to reflect upon ourselves.

“By painting the masks in a very minimal but aggressive manner, I was attempting to infuse the direct power of raw tribal art with a sense of contemporary graffiti.

“Very simple, very direct and open to interpretation. I want people to find their own way around and I want people to find something profound. To me the large suspended airborne paintings will radiate a sense of hope. I am referring to the human spirit. The type of spirit that enables us to adventure, reach out and breach our physical confines.”

Visit Paul's website