Norman Hyams: ‘I very much believe in losing a painting and finding it’

Norman Hyams talked to Studio International about his painting process before the opening of his first solo show for 10 years, Ethos at The Hannah Barry Gallery in south London

Ethos, at the Hannah Barry gallery in south London, is the painter Norman Hyams’s first solo show for 10 years. Hyams graduated from Chelsea College of Art in 2006, holding his first solo show at Run Gallery in London in 2007. He completed the Turps Art School Studio Programme last year (2016). His images of everyday life suggest hidden narratives, enticing the viewer into a puzzled gaze.

Drawing is an important part of Hyams’s process and the elegant pared-down marks in his images give generous space for the individual to wonder, in the words of Bob Dylan: “Something [interesting] is happening here, but you don’t know what it is …”1

• Norman Hyams: Ethos is at the Hannah Barry Gallery, London, until 29 April 2017.

Interview by MK PALOMAR
Filmed by MARTIN KENNEDY

Reference
1. From Bob Dylan’s Ballad of a Thin Man.