Gary Hume is best known for his works made of household paint on aluminium panels, but his practice also includes large-scale sculpture, drawing and printmaking. His signature ‘Door’ paintings from the early 1990s were made using what has become Hume’s characteristically vibrant palette and graphic visual language; recurring themes that have evolved over the years include flowers, celebrity portraits, animals and birds.

The edges of the picture and colour juxtapositions are key to Hume’s visual language. Careful decisions about where to ‘cut off’ the composition result in figurative subject matter being abstracted and transformed into something more ambiguous. Although typified by their flatness, the surface of Hume’s works communicates a lush sensuality achieved through the thick application of glossy paint. Hume’s work in recent years has become emotionally charged, exploring personal memories and political tragedies. In this large-scale painting the various components in shades of camouflage khaki read as a tree of sorts, but the ‘dark matter’ in the top right corner of the composition acts as a warning; the viewer is left unsure of the true nature of the subject.

Having graduated from Goldsmiths College, London, Hume was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1996 and represented Britain in the Venice Biennale in 1999. He has exhibited widely internationally; solo exhibitions include those at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria, Tate Britain, and recently, an exhibition of new sculpture at the New Arts Centre near Salisbury, UK. His works are held in numerous public and private collections. He lives and works in London and Accord, New York.