ARTISTS TO WATCH

HOWARD TANGYE

There’s a lot to take in when you enter HOWARD TANGYE’S STUDIO, located on the first floor of his North London home. Initially, you’re hit by the pervasive smells of piney turpentine and fresh paint drying in the air. Then, you’re struck by the profusion of brushes, oil sticks and tubes of paint strewn over the tabletops. Notes on torn pieces of paper, sketches, postcards, newspaper clippings and photographs are haphazardly pinned or taped to a back wall, while the middle of the room is dominated by a delightful disarray of found objects spread out on top of a large chest of drawers. 

Among this cherished clutter of old pots, glass vases, vintage boxes and dried flowers is a collection of antique dolls with faded faces and missing limbs. “I’ve lined them up like they’re on an operating table, haven’t I?” says the artist, laughing. “I’ll get round to repairing them at some point.”