Artist Spotlight: Gary Bunt

I recently went to see Gary Bunt’s ‘The Simple Things’ exhibition at Saatchi Gallery. The time I spend at exhibitions is my time to think and be inspired, to learn and contemplate on the message an artist is conveying. For that hour or two I spent in the gallery surrounded by Bunt’s work, I felt pure comfort and pleasure. Here are some highlights from my visit…

Bunt’s ‘By Light of the Moon’ paintings immediately caught my attention because the curtains Bunt has painted feature our Moondog fabric, designed for Chelsea Textiles…

Beside the painting, we spotted this poem.. 

‘By the Light of the Moon
Looking up at the night sky
Thinking about my dear old dad
A very wise man who taught me things
When I was just a lad
Never be scared of the bogeyman
Who lives underneath your bed
He’ll only come out if you’re naughty
So be careful how you tread
Don’t tell lies or your nose will grow
And a policeman will knock at the door
He’ll take away your box of toys
Then give them to the poor
Be loving, kind and generous
Always say thank you and please
He taught me about heaven when I was seven
And how God made the moon out of cheese’

While beneath each artwork, physical items depicted in Bunt’s paintings were displayed…

This familiar scene titled ‘Biscuits and a Bone’ put a smile on our faces! There was a poem for this also… 

‘Be grateful every day
That you have a place to call your home
Be grateful if you have a dish
Full of biscuits and a bone’

I was so happy to meet Bunt and his family and now I feel I have made new friends. Bunt, like his work, is charming and unpretentious. It was such a pleasure to be in his company surrounded by eighteen month’s worth of his work. The paintings all feature two of Bunt’s long-time protagonists: a man wearing braces and his touchingly loyal dog. Bunt told me that the man is a portrait of his father, Bert, who died in 2015, but it is also a portrait of himself.

As Dr James Fox wrote in his introduction to the show:

“It focuses on life’s purest pleasures, including friendship, physical affection, gardening, fishing, and even the sweet sensation of being tucked up at home when it’s raining outside…”

Based near Charleston House, Gary Bunt’s love for Modern British art is broad and far-reaching. His work reminds us that the simple things in life – love, faith, beauty, and companionship – still matter. 

Kit x