About my work

Although I paint in different genres such as abstract, figure, still life, interiors and landscape, most of my work revolves around landscape and cityscape painting, sometimes as large panoramas or more often as smaller works. In my painting I have been exploring the fusion of landscape with abstraction to develop ways to express aspects of the world around us hoping that my paintings challenge how we look at landscape and question the idea that what we see is all there is, and so express the juxtaposition of the physical with the spiritual and counter the materialism that is so prevalent in our society.

This seems to me to be a good idea as anything that gets us to understand our world better and our place in it may encourage us to wonder not only about the Creation but also the Creator. I place abstract elements into the landscape, either using abstract shapes, blends of colour or using unexpected colour to transform the view. I am also interested in aspects of our visual perception including colour theory and curvilinear perspective to discover new ways to engage the viewer. In part I use my background in science to provide a theoretical pool of ideas for my artwork.

Over the last few years I have been using painting knives and different supports, such as wood panels, aluminium dibond and aluminium sheets as part of my painting practice. The use of different media is important in continuing to grow as a painter-printmaker and not get trapped in a particular methodology.

My digital prints are made with the use of a computer and a high grade ink-jet printer using stable pigment-based ink; the digital prints start as a sheet of blank electronic ‘paper’ and are ‘drawn’ or ‘painted’ on screen using an electronic pen and graphics tablet and is not based on any scans, tracings or image manipulation.

I have several paintings in corporate collections and was the first painter from the then EU to be exhibited in Cherkassy (a city in the centre of Ukraine).

If you would like to find out more about my work please visit my website: www.mikefryer.co.uk and if you would like to receive an occasional newsletter or details about other exhibitions then please email me: mike@mikefryer.co.uk and ask to be placed on my mailing list.

Exhibitions (Various, including):
2001 short-listed for the ‘Corner Art Prize’, London.
2001 selected for the ‘By Hand 3’ exhibition at the County Gallery, Maidstone.
2002 selected for the ‘By Hand 4’ exhibition at the County Gallery, Maidstone.
2003 exhibited at the ‘Contemporary Print’ show at London Print Studio.
2004 short-listed for the Arundell Trust Art Exhibition Prize and exhibited at St Ethelburga’s, Bishopsgate, London.
2004 three works (comprising 14 canvases) accepted for the ICI/LDAF exhibition ‘Still Inspired’ running for one year at ICI Corporate Centre, London.
2005 exhibition ‘La Joie de Vivre’ at Nevill Gallery, Canterbury.
2005 surgery on both shoulders - not much painting for nearly a year!
2006 part of ‘By Hand 8’ at Dartford Public Library during December.
2007 solo show 'Listening Colour' Dashwood Gallery, Hall Place and Gardens, Bexley, Kent.
2007 part of ‘ko-ax’ open art competition, Mascalls Gallery, Paddock Wood, Kent.
2007 joint exhibition ‘From Eden to... Eternity’ Regional Countrystudy Museum of Cherkassy, Ukraine
2008 work exhibited at BT Wholesale, London
2008 work exhibited at Baltic Exchange, London
2008 work exhibited at LloydsTSB, London
2008 solo show at Npower Corporate Centre, Swindon
2009 joint exhibition at BT Wholesale, London.
2010 joint work exhibited at reception at British Olympic Association and Paralympic Association, London.
2010 joint exhibition at BT Wholesale, London.
2010 work included in ‘From the Darkness’ at Little St Peter's Church, Brighton, part of Brighton Festival Fringe organised by Mascalls Gallery, Paddock Wood.
2010 exhibition at Employers’ Forum on Disability, Gold Reception at the Garden Museum, London.
2010 joint exhibition British Olympic Association and Paralympic Association, London.
2010 solo work exhibited at reception at House of Lords (organised by Employers’ Forum on Disability).
2010 solo exhibition at BT Wholesale, London.
2011 work exhibited at Art in the Dockyard Exhibition, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent.
2011 joint exhibition at Employers’ Forum on Disability, Gold Reception at Church House, London.
2011 joint exhibition ‘Just The Way We Are’ joint exhibition with Sevenoaks Visual Art Forum at ArtsSpace, Cranbrook Library, Kent.
2011 joint exhibition ‘Artists Access to Art Colleges’ (AA2A) University of the Creative Arts, Canterbury.
2011 contributing four A1 prints to Shape Arts Pop-Up Galleries.
2012 painting another panorama of London.
2012 ‘The Big Picture’ (4 June), Community Arts project to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
2012 taking time out from exhibitions to paint.
2014 two print reproductions of ‘London Welcomes the World’ auctioned at the BT Sport Relief Ball (The Grosvenor House Hotel, London) on March 26, 2014.
2015 exhibiting at Xross-PolyNation Art Gallery, Maidstone.
Member of South East Open Studios 2000–2016 (web-only member 2016).
2016 joint exhibition ‘The Art of Being’ at Xross-PolyNation Art Gallery, Maidstone.
2016 solo exhibition ‘Continuum’ at Ripley Arts Centre, Bromley.
2017 Maidstone International Arts Festival, exhibited paintings at two venues.
2017 Pure Arts Group Autumn Fair.
2017 ‘Masquerade’ at Wing Gallery, Wadhurst, East Sussex.
2018 Short-listed, exhibited and included in exhibition book of ‘Where is God in our 21st Century World?’ Chaiya Art Award 2018, gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank, London.
2018 Pure Arts Group Autumn Fair.
2019 Exhibition with Jack Messan and others at St. Andrew's Art Centre, Gravesend, Kent.
2019 Invited Guest Artist to the Pilgrim’s Way Artist’s Summer Exhibition 2020 (postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19).
2020 Chaiya Art Awards ‘Where is God in our 21st Century World?’ 3D virtual exhibition online. Voted in 3rd place by the public vote.
2020 Chaiya Art Awards, invited to submit a painting for ‘IMPACT’ 3D virtual exhibition online about the impact of COVID-19 around the world.
2020 Invited Guest Artist to the Pilgrim’s Way Online Exhibition 2020–2021: https://pilgrims-way-artists.myshopify.com

Works in collections:
2005 two works in the ICI Permanent Collection: a single canvas ‘Heaven and Earth’ and a ten canvas work entitled ‘The Commandments’.
2011 the major painting ‘London Welcomes the World’ purchased by BT Wholesale for their Corporate Collection.

Awards/Residencies:
2002 awarded a residency at London Print Studio.
2002 awarded a grant from Southern & South East Arts to develop digital artwork.
2007 ‘Artist of the Month’ National Disability Arts Forum (www.ndaf.org).
2009 accepted on the ‘Sync SE’ leadership in the arts development programme, a two-year training course funded by Arts Council England, South East with funds from Accentuate.
2010 awarded Artists' Access to Art Colleges (AA2A) residency at University of the Creative Arts, Canterbury.
2011 the digital print ‘Dockyard Water’ shortlisted for MacWorld Digital Artist of the Year, 2011.
2011 the digital print ‘Wheelchair-bound’ chosen as the ‘Pic of the week’ by AA2A and shown on their Twitter page: http://twitpic.com/4k0ial

Publications:
1989: co-author and joint illustrator ‘The Woodland Ecology Pack’, published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
2001: ‘Painting in harmony’ article in South East Arts ‘Disabled People and the Arts’ Newsletter.
2005: various paintings featured in ‘Limited Edition’ magazine and ‘Focus’ magazine.
2006: Fryer MJ. Complementarity. Optics and Laser Technology; 38: 417–430. A discussion and investigation of complementary colour featuring two paintings by the author.
2009 Fryer MJ. Sensations from Nature. International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics; 4, No. 3 (2009) 219–227.
2010 in progress: ‘Living Colour’ an examination of colour in plants and painting.
2011 joint author with Bob Horlock, primary designer and photo editor ‘Visiting the Past, images of the Mistley, Manningtree and Lawford Area circa 1900–1925’, published by R J Horlock.
2013 joint author with Bob Horlock, primary designer and photo editor ‘Revisiting the Past, maps and images of Mistley, Manningtree and Lawford circa 1769–1926’, published by R J Horlock.
2016 ‘Visiting the Past’ reprinted with minor corrections.
2018 blog published by Disability Arts Online: ‘The Paranoid Painter’, see here.
2018 painting included in: Ann Clifford, ‘Where is God in our 21st century world?’, Chaiya Art Award, published by Instant Apostle, Watford.