“In my work I am entranced by the beauty to be found in unexpected places and everyday
objects and the contrast between light and darkness. I love the shadows and abstract
patterns created by sunlight hitting the side of buildings and the interesting connections it
makes between them. Similarly, in my still life paintings I am fascinated by the way light
generates shadows which link the objects together and create movement and connections
between them and thus create an interesting whole. At night I am excited by the way street
lights brightly lit shop fronts and neon lights accentuate the contrasts between night and
dark and how the night also adds an extra dimension of mystery and uncertainty to familiar
places and turns them into liminal spaces. I also find that I am increasingly drawn to places
where buildings and lights are reflected in water and how the contrast of the solid built
objects lose their definition and certainty when reflected.”
Hugh Frazer grew up in Northern Ireland and currently lives in Dublin. He took up painting in
his 30s and studied at extra mural classes at the College of Art in Belfast and NCAD in
Dublin. He also holds a diploma in the History of European Painting from Trinity College
Dublin. His carefully composed urban and still-life paintings capture moments of stillness and
suspense and seek to capture his emotional responses to particular places and objects.
He has had 4 solo exhibitions with The Doorway Gallery (2012, 2015, 2021, 2024) and 2 in
Brussels (2007, 2009) with Chapitre XII Gallery and the European Commission. He has
exhibited frequently in major exhibitions in Ireland such as the RHA (1991,1992.1993, 1994,
1996 1997, 2000, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) and
RUA (1985, 2016, 2018,2019, 2020,2022).
"Hugh Frazer has a feeling for abstract patterns in his crisply organised, carefully lit urban landscapes." Aidan Dunne Irish Times
