Raqib Shaws work is the kind that just looks so beautiful it is impossible to dislike. His paintings, no matter what way you look at them, naturally look exquisite

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Raqib Shaw’s work is the kind that just looks so beautiful it is impossible to dislike. His paintings, no matter what way you look at them, naturally look exquisite and his use of largemmm varieties of textural materials make his works stand out and look exciting. What appeals to me about his work is its mythical, mystical and colourful style. Any art that tells stories will be interesting to look and this is a fact I like. His reminds me of the things that are often described as ‘ornate’ such as intricately carved frames, antiques, ornaments, things that surprise you by their detail.

Shaw was born in Calcutta on the outskirts of India into a family of carpenters and was raised a Muslim. Religion was an influence to him from the day he was born, he became a Muslim educated by a Hindu teacher at a Christian School. This range of religion influencing from a young age could inspire, yet a child being exposed to all these conflicting religions could have offered contradictions within a mind. It is easy to see how his Indian upbringing has influenced his later work, his use of all things delicate and pretty is heavy, the rhinestones, glitter, colour and much more would have all been influenced by Indian tradition. At school he displayed in affinity with English Literature; Wordsworth, Coleridge, the Brontes, Wilde, Hardy are named favourites. At the age of 24, in 1988, he entered the Central St Martin’s School of Art in London to study his BA then MA, but  on arrival he was treated a ‘noble savage’. Moving to London resulted in Shaw developing an interest in Renaissance paintings and being astounded by some paintings in the National Gallery including Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi and Bronzino's ‘Allegory with Venus, Cupid and Time.’ The painting ‘Ambassadors’ inspired him to not go into the family business to earn consistant money, but to follow what he wanted to do and paint.

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Recently after graduating, his first solo show consisting of eighteen drawings and five paintings sold out, then again at New York’s Armoury Show, where every piece sold out in the first day. Shaw was a success; his unique style boasting intricate detail, rich colour, and jewel-like surfaces, all masking the intense violent and sexual nature of its imagery resulted in beautiful paintings that intrigues the public. He began by using oil paints but he struggled with the fact he was only creating pieces that looked like those that already existed, nothing new. Realising that he could not, and did not ...

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