Simon Quadrat

Simon Quadrat was born in London in 1946, the son of Jewish émigrés who separately fled Germany in the 1930s. During his school years he painted factories and desolate urban landscapes. Reading and visiting art galleries became part of his lifestyle; however, he has stated that at that time he “had no thought of becoming an artist.” Instead, he studied law at university and then embarked on a 30-year long career as a Barrister specialising in criminal cases.

In 2000 he gave up the Bar in order to become a full-time painter. He and his wife Jenny live in Wiltshire and his studio is a barn at the bottom of the garden. In his words, “My work is too subjective and I can’t isolate myself from it. The viewer will see my own themes and concerns, but with their imagination they will be able to understand the meaning of the works”. Artists from the 14th century to the present are acknowledged influences upon his work, in particular some of the Modern British and European painters from the immediate pre and post war period. Documentary films, archive photographs recording images and events of the 1950s and the period of his childhood in London, all supplement his memory, feed the imagination and metamorphose into his painting.

He has exhibited regularly over 20 years in a number of galleries and his work is in numerous private collections both in the UK and abroad. Since 2009 he has been represented by Panter and Hall in London. Simon is an elected member and past President of the Royal West of England Academy and an elected member of the New English Art Club. Apart from art, music and particularly playing the piano has, since childhood, played a large part in Simon’s life.