Focus on Cityscapes

Towering skyscrapers, soaring spires and flashing lights. Whether depicting a city that’s pulsing with energy, or representing snapshots of hidden urban life, cityscapes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. First bursting onto the art scene in the late nineteenth century when Impressionists delighted in the colours, lights and compositions that the new cities offered, cityscapes continue to inspire artists to this day.

We have plenty of options to dive into at our fairs, created by photographers, printmakers and painters alike, they each celebrate the cityscape in all its guises – from the city that never sleeps to those intimate, quieter dawn moments as a city is waking up. Whether taking the plunge and buying your first artwork or adding to an expanding collection, we’ve selected a few of our favourites for you to get lost in.

FAMILIAR PLACES

Including a cityscape of a place you know and love in your interior is a great way to inject parts of your personality into your home without a massive design overhaul. Certain skylines are iconic – and perhaps none more so than the big apple, New York City, brought to life in Juan del Pozo’s Empire State Colours. Who could resist this stunning city skyline, brought to life in an array of pastel colours, chalky strokes and blurred tones. Or, how about Trevor Banthorpe’s limited edition woodblock print. Offering a brilliant close-up of city life, Trevor uses the repetitive marks of the woodblock to reinforce New York’s electric energy, along with the iconic yellow traffic light motif. Looking at this work, one can just imagine hailing a cab on a typical Midtown Manhattan corner.

For those wanting a little slice of London in their living room, why not invest in one of Jo Quigley’s acrylics? With its crisp colours and carefully applied paint, Jo’s work has a real depth and sense of clarity. Other works, such as Susan Brown’s Golden Days, The Savoy embody a gentle nostalgia, through the use of golden, amber hues.

COLOURS AND ABSTRACT

Just because you opt to hang a cityscape in your home, that doesn’t mean that it needs to be a recognisable, or even a real, city. Brightly coloured or abstract artworks representing urban life can prove to be just as captivating as their recognisable counterparts. Represented by DECORAZON, Alberto Sanchez’s Unforgotten Series No. 1 is a work of two halves: whilst the bottom half of his canvas is one of city skylines, the top half dissolves into an abstract skyline, focusing on colouration and shape rather than clear figuration. 

Colour is also an important part of this genre. Ian Hargreaves’s The Stone Mason, Marrakech III celebrates beautiful pinks, yellows and greens, whilst Nicholas Choong uses bold washes of bright orange and navy blue in his Composition No. 7. This work would be a welcome splash for an interior crying out for some colourful tones.

PULSATING METROPOLIS

A city scene in all its crazy, metropolitan glory is the perfect way to inject some oomph into your interior, how about Rebecca King’s Fuji (main image); works such as these have a real sense of frenetic dynamism – proving captivating focal points within a quieter, muted room. Likewise, an abstract cityscape such as Antoine Rose’s Pinball has an exciting feel, making it a brilliant addition to a minimal white wall.

Cityscapes can also feel more documentary in character than other genres; take Desmond Lo’s gritty Urban Uprising, which while being digitally manipulated, still holds the essence of photo journalism, bringing the chaos of highly populated cities like Hong Kong, where the artist lives, perfectly to life.

A QUIET MOMENT

Finally, cityscapes aren’t always bold expressions of colour, abstract artworks or representations of crazy urban life; they also have the capacity to soothe and surprise. Aaron Sewards Quiet Toyama 3 has a gorgeously serene quality, inviting the viewer to look closer at the snapshot of a quieter city in his miniature representation of Japanese urban life. Or, how about Christophe Jacrot’s Perce Neige, a beautifully snowy scene that represents a moment of cool winter quiet.

If you’re feeling inspired by cityscapes, make sure to keep an eye out for our 1,000s of artist’s contemporary interpretations at your nearest Affordable Art Fair.

Main Image: Rebecca King, Fuji, 2016, limited edition, Modern ArtBuyer