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Renny Tait

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Renny Tait

A large oil painting on canvas of the Portland Bill Lighthouse distilled to its purest architectural form, Renny Tait's painting for Dorset County Hospital takes the lighthouse as its inspiration - a new kind of building for the artist. Because of his unusual use of perspective, the viewer is given no clues as to the building's scale. It is as if we're looking though a telephoto lens, not knowing if we see the building itself or a miniature model of it. Tait treats his subject like a still life, as he would a collection of objects on a shelf, simplifying and distilling the form to find its abstract and permanent qualities. The highly finished surface seems to shimmer like satin.

On moving to London after finishing his studies at Edinburgh College of Art, Tait worked in a studio overlooking a pure white 1930's residential block behind the V&A. The building soon began appearing as a windowless, ghostly presence in his hard-edged abstract paintings, which led to a period of work with a preoccupation with architectural forms, which this piece is from.

Tait has work in many public and private collections including, the Royal Academy, the Tate Gallery and the Government Art Collection.

This commission was part of the 'Bringing the Outside In' project funded through an Arts Council England Lottery Award.

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We aim to enhance the healing environment for patients, visitors and staff here at Dorset County Hospital, through visual art, performance and music. Please help us to continue and expand our programme by donating. Your donations can be used to commission and purchase new artwork to brighten up the hospital or to fund new participatory projects with professional artists and musicians.

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