David Hepher Fusina's Field IV, 1998

David Hepher's landscapes created from his time spent in the South West of France are far from the simple landscapes that one would imagine. As with the artist's urban works, these paintings capture the essence of the location; the earth mixed with paint offers the same textural experience as the tower blocks, but instigates a calm, natural aspect to this very different environment. The narrative is almost the same; the subtext instigating a heightened awareness of passing time and history and of endurance and resistance, seen in the weathered fields, hills and trees.

The choice of colours emits a sense of a tranquil rhythm, against the movement seen and felt in his urban pieces. This, combined with the offsetting of realism, demonstrated in the graffiti at the edges of such picturesque artworks, creates the multiple layers of reality we experience in his depiction of London's cityscape. While Hepher's artworks are purely visual experiences, they fully engage the viewer, as his unique insights open up personal observances and questions on how we live and our understanding of the world.