Gary Hume  (British, 1962) 

Gary Hume (British, b.1962) is a painter best known for his association with the Young British Artists prominent in the 1990s. He attended and graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1988. Hume''s work was included in Freeze, a Damien Hirst (English, b.1965) exhibition, and East Country Yard, a warehouse exhibition that included works by Henry Bond (English, b.1966) and Sarah Lucas (English, b.1962).

Early in his career, Hume was noted for his Door Paintings, which were true-to-size paintings representing hospital doors. His work was also included in Brilliant, an exhibition by the Young British Artists in 1995. In 1997, the touring exhibition of Charles Saatchi''s art collection, Sensation, included Hume''s work while at the Royal Academy in London. Hume changed the direction of his work and began painting with household gloss paint on aluminum. These paintings typically included animals and celebrities, such as English DJ Tony Blackburn. He used just a few colors for this work. One of Hume’s notable pieces is Snowman (1996), in which he uses three shades of red.

Hume was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1996 and lost to Douglas Gordon (Scottish, b.1966). He proceeded to represent Great Britain in 1999 at the Venice Biennale, where he showe a number of superimposed line drawings called the Water series. In 1999, Hume''s work was in a one-person exhibition held at Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. In 2001, he was elected a Royal Academician. Hume created an exhibition in January of 2012 titled Indifferent Owl, which was hosted by White Cube in both the Hoxton Square and Mason''s Yard locations in London, England. Hume compares the concept of this exhibition to his approach to painting. Having seen an owl one night as it watched a balloon float by and catch in a tree, Hume imagined the owl to be indifferent to the process. He compared the way he sees life to the way the owl saw the balloon, with indifference and from a distance. Hume resides and works in London, England, and Accord, NY.