Patrick Hughes

(British, born 1939)

Patrick Hughes is a British artist known for his invention of a unique optical illusion he calls the “reverspective.” In these three-dimensional relief paintings, objects that appear closest to the viewer, are in fact, the furthest away in physical space. Playing with perspective and distance and challenging the viewer’s understanding of vision. “When the principles of perspective are reversed and solidified into sculpted paintings, something extraordinary happens,” the artist has said of his work. “The mind is deceived into believing the impossible, that a static painting can move of its own accord.” Born Peter David Hughes on October 20, 1939 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, the painter created Sticking-out Room—his first reverspective—in 1964 after studying at the Leeds Day Training College. On the day of his graduation, he had his first exhibition at the Portal Gallery in London. Currently living and working in London, United Kingdom, Hughes’s works are held in the collections of the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.