Background
Andrew Crane is based in Northumberland. Training at the Central School of Art and Design in graphic design his paintings often employ the use of typographical elements.

His work and inspirations
Andrew paints with oils on canvas often using thin layers of cement as a ground to his compositions. Andrew admits that his lack of plastering skill is a help rather than a hindrance in the birth of a painting – the resulting surface, with its imperfections and anomalies, providing pointers and structure to the composition of his paintings.

Andrew has a fascination with the abstract nature of numbers and letterforms, especially when stripped back to their symbolic origin. These shapes that we use everyday are combined in such a way that we see them afresh in Andrew’s work. Through clever composition his paintings seemingly pose questions, make statements and even hint at the answers.

“My endeavour is to use the convincingly 'real' and familiar language of word and number, in such a way as to point towards a whole new and infinitely more fulfilling reality - one that has of course, been staring me in the face.

I see my paintings as ‘philosophical ramblings’ in paint and cement”.

Building on his philosophical background, Andrew comments, “I like the idea that these pieces are visual kōans”. (A puzzling, often paradoxical statement or story, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening).

Recent Exhibitions
Andrew has been exhibited at a number of galleries around the UK in the last couple of years. These include solo shows at: The Town Mill Gallery, Lyme Regis; Sherborne House, Sherborne, Dorset and has exhibited at The Great Art Christmas Fair, Alexandra Palace, London; The Biscuit Factory as part of their Spring Show; Art for Life; The Smithfileld Gallery, London; The Affordable Art Fair, Battersea and Pepperton Gallery, London.

In addition to showcasing his work, Andrew has also exhibited at curated projects, including the Fishmarket Art Fair in Northampton, jgallery, Northampton, an exhibition in Illinois, USA and at the 2007 Plus International Design Festival in Birmingham.