Jeremy Houghton

Entrusted with keys to palaces, sporting arenas, battle fields, and rugged outposts, Jeremy Houghton (b.1974) is an artist in residence who has accepted invitations to paint at some of the world’s most extraordinary places. From behind closed doors his work reveals what most people never get to see.

His residencies, which have spanned two decades, include a number of royal, military and sporting communities, from those at Windsor Castle for HM Queen Elizabeth II to the Wimbledon championships, America’s Cup and the competitors at the 2012 London Olympic Games. These tonal works use a reduced palette to enhance the representation of movement and nostalgia.

Houghton’s flamingo collection started over twenty years ago as a residency and has become a life-long study. The Oppenheimer family (de Beers) opened the gates to their private game reserve in South Africa from where his paintings were created and used to raise awareness of these captivating, endangered birds. A recent visit to the Kalahari Desert has inspired a new collection elevated with gold leaf as a comment on the rarity of the species.

Ultimately, Houghton paints eye-catching, untold stories, favouring uplifting, insightful themes of perception and reality. The subjects that characterise these scenes are illuminated by his focus on the spaces in which subjects rule, compete, defend and often soar.