Rebecca Tucker

London-based painter Rebecca Tucker has a BA in Fine Art from Reading University. Her work is a visual discussion between abstract and representational methods of depicting subjects. She says, “The idea of suggesting something to a viewer and then essentially thwarting that perception by drawing them into see the beauty of paint on a surface. Whilst the paintings of Rene Magritte are stylistically poles apart from my work, his concepts behind ‘The Treachery of Images’ and paintings like ‘Ceci n’est pas une pipe’ really strike a chord with me. I am not trying to make people believe they are standing in front of an actual landscape or a real object when they see my work. I want them to see the paint, react emotionally to the actual painting, not just to the subject of the piece.” Rebecca is keen to play with the viewer’s perception of subject and space in her paintings and then pull that preconceived idea back to the appreciation of what are essentially abstract marks on a two dimensional surface.

About her process, she shares, “Whilst there is always a starting point for each of my paintings, whether that be a story, a place, a memory or an event, I try to abandon the sense that abstraction and figuration are mutually exclusive. The paintings can depict a notionally ‘real’ space, whilst also functioning, on closer inspection, as autonomous, non-referential, abstract and emotional objects.” Rebecca’s recent notable successes include selection for the 2021 ING Discerning Eye exhibition and being long listed in the 2021 Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Prize and she is an active member of ArtCan Org.

See more from Rebecca Tucker at rebeccatucker.co.uk