Patrick Hughes, who was born in 1939 in Birmingham, had no formal art education and was largely self-taught. As a young child, he sheltered from German bombs during the second World War under the staircase of his grandparents’ house and was intrigued by the view of a staircase from underneath – the reversal of its normal self. This early fascination has continued to drive the artist’s life-long interest in presenting ideas the ‘opposite’ way round.
Hughes’s dedication to reading fuelled his imagination and enjoyment of escapism into different worlds. For his twenty-first birthday, he was bought a subscription to Art News and Review and learned of the London Arts Scene. He sent slides of his work to London’s Portal Gallery In 1961 they offered him an exhibition which was to be not only his first one-man show but also the very first show in London by a so-called Pop Artist.
Shortly afterwards Hughes became a senior lecturer in Painting and Drawing at Leeds College of Art, where he made two of his seminal works, Infinity 1963, and The Sticking out Room 1964 his first Reverspective. From there he moved to St Ives, New York and finally London.
Patrick Hughes has exhibited in many cities including London, New York, Amsterdam, Cologne, Dublin, Pittsburgh, Munich, Toronto, Boston, Seoul and Jeddah. His work is to be found in several Private and Public collections including the British Council, The British Library, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Tate Gallery.
He currently lives and works in London.