John Lloyd
Cowboy, 2020
- Medium
- Mixed media on canvas
- Dimensions
- 59.51 x 41.81 cm
Joseph Clark Collection · JCC-0056
About the work
A cowboy boot stands against a vivid blue field, accompanied by a gun and a snake. Their separation gives each object a distinct presence while allowing associations to pass between them. Part of John Lloyd’s Still Life Series, Cowboy brings together imagery inspired by archival photography, Magritte’s The Survivor and the Rainbow Portrait. The familiar boot becomes a meeting point for texture, memory and the ambiguous symbols surrounding it. Bravery and conflict, danger and wisdom remain in play rather than resolving into a single story.
About the artist
John Lloyd (born 1994) is a London-based painter who graduated in Fine Art from Bath Spa University in 2016. His paintings explore domestic life through familiar objects, interiors and figures, allowing pleasure, awkwardness and unease to occupy the same scene. Philip Guston is an influence on his recurring, cartoon-like motifs; group compositions use gesture and body language to suggest competing relationships.
His Still Life Series, begun in 2019, renews attention to everyday things that were once valued but have become overlooked. Objects carry memories and cultural associations as well as serving as elements within a composition. Cowboy draws on archival photography, Magritte and the Rainbow Portrait to bring different visual histories into one image.
Lloyd has exhibited at Compton Verney and with Dispensary at Hypha Studios, alongside undertaking commissions for hospitality and fashion clients.