All things bright and audible

Richard C Beard, Bright

Richard Beard’s upcoming exhibition at Madame Lillie’s promises to be a mesmerising fusion of colour and sound.

Beard studied fine art in Coventry in the early 1970s; he then went on to do a degree in the science of music in London in the late 1990s.

The Citizen was keen to find out what drives this unusual artist and where he gets his inspiration.

Why do you create art?

‘Why’ is infinite and meaningless – any response can be further queried, and what is creation if not art? I do not know what ‘drives’ me: hearing is passive – listening is active.

Where do your works come from?

I make a mark and then respond to that mark. The mark is often a rectangle of colour, my responses accept, accentuate or modify the mark in an intuitive way.

When I am pleased with the result the painting is complete. Often the process contains mistakes, accidents, or poor decisions.

Sometimes I have to adapt the painting, sometimes I have to adapt my approach, and sometimes I have to put the painting aside and come back to it in the future.

Some of the paintings have very few marks, some of them have been overpainted many times.

Occasionally I am moved to respond to the materials I am working with, this will usually produce a pre-formed idea of the finished work.

What impact does your work in sound have on your visual art?

There feels very little influence from one to the other, but that does not answer the question! I always have music when I paint.

Painting comes from a different place within me, and touches different feelings/expressions/desires. It is a liberation from the worldliness that I feel in my sonic work. Sound only exists in time, painting is time frozen.

What is the intent behind the Sounding Out exhibition?

The intent is in the title. I have not exhibited for a very long time so this is a sounding out of possibilities. It is also a sounding out in the sense of exposure and embarkation. And there will be sound.

Sounding Out by Richard Beard is showing Friday 2 – Sunday 11 April at Madame Lillie’s, 10 Cazenove Road, Stoke Newington N16 6BD.

For more information visit Madame Lillie’s or phone 07990 695 363 to make an appointment to view.