It is with both sadness and joy that Badcock’s presents this exhibition. Sadness at the death of such a fine artist and friend, joy at being able to fulfil a commitment to Michael that was discussed long before his death.
An artist highly respected by his peers, Michael Upton was also the recipient of many prestigious awards: the Singer and Freidlander Prize (Sunday Times), a South West Arts Major Award, and the Leverhulme Scholarship (Royal Academy Schools) amongst many others.
‘Summing up’ was the title of one of Michael’s last paintings, we thought this a fitting title for the exhibition. In these paintings we see a departure from his monochromatic earlier work, his handling of colour and palette has changed, yet there is still the tight architectural approach to the painting that was the trademark of this highly talented and sadly missed artist.