Richard Nott

I start with no preconceived concept, making a series of random marks, roughly applied in raw umber to the canvas. While considering these chance marks, a direction for composition becomes apparent and colours suggest themselves. Following these guidelines, and using only palette knives, I work over the surface until the composition feels complete.

- Richard Nott

Training as a fashion designer at Kingston University, Nott began his career as a design assistant to Valentino in Rome, before returning to the UK to work as an independent designer. He went on to co-found the cult fashion company Workers for Freedom, which was the recipient of the British Council Fashion Designer of the Year Award in 1990.

It was working in fashion that developed Nott's reverence for texture, shape and pattern, which has informed much of his work. His first exhibition was directly inspired by the clothing collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Kensington Palace Court Collection in London, as well as exhibitions in the Museé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris and the royal kaftans held in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.

Since then, his work has been shown around London, including at the Mall Galleries and Harrods. Over this time, his paintings have taken a more abstracted path. In a muted palette, with soft colours marbled in layers and metallic elements, as well as a strong presence of pattern, his recent works still retain the character of a long career in fashion.