Whyte imagines fictional environments in his paintings, creating an enigmatic atmosphere that contributes to his psychoanalytic approach. The painted medium is paramount for the artist whose broad, loosely rendered brushstrokes are mirrored in his expansive compositions, in which time and space expand and contract across the canvas. Although non-linear, narrative plays a central role in Whyte’s work, which sees him carry certain motifs over from one painting to the next. These recurring details contribute to the sense of theatre that pervades his work; Whyte directs his subjects as though they are actors and his canvas a stage. Despite excluding himself from the work representationally, the stories he crafts reflect his everyday life and innermost thoughts. The figures in Whyte’s paintings act as conduits for his subconscious. Giving form to thought through paint, he generates a sense of introspection through his characters’ often averted or guarded faces. At once enigmatic and familiar, Whyte’s paintings evoke the surreal and shape the ephemeral, ultimately leaving his world open to the viewer’s own interpretation.
Shaqúelle Whyte (b. 2000, Wolverhampton) lives and works in London. He received a BA in Fine Art from the Slade School of Fine Art, London and an MA from the Royal College of Art, London. In April 2024, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, presented the artist’s first solo exhibition, Yute, you’re gonna be fine. Following this, Whyte was selected for a live conversation at Tate Britain, with art historian Alayo Akinkugbe, and a painting from his solo exhibition was acquired by The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, UK, with support from The Contemporary Art Society, London. At Frieze London 2024, a new painting by Whyte was acquired by the Arts Council Collection, UK, made possible by the Arts Council Collection Frieze Fund.
Recent exhibitions include Present Tense, Hauser & Wirth, Somerset; Buffer, Guts Gallery, London; Seasons in the City, curated by Artuner, Palazzo Capris, Turin; and Showstopper, Saatchi Gallery, London. Recent awards and residencies include the Herbert Seaborne Prize; the Black Sponsorship Scheme with Carl Kostyál Gallery; a residency at The Fores Project, London; and the Denise Israel Scholarship, Rome Art Program. Whyte is represented by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London.
[excerpted from Pippy Houldsworth Gallery website: www.houldsworth.co.uk]