Robert Montgomery hits the Open Road at Halcyon Gallery

Keeping close to his Scottish roots, Robert Montgomery began developing his style during his years at Edinburgh College of Art. Here he undertook a BA and an MFA, but he wasn’t always all about the words. In fact, Montgomery began his journey in the art world - like many - with a paintbrush in hand. All before breaking beyond the canvas and into contemporary installations. With these structures, Montgomery’s initial drive to play around with lit-up letters was sparked when James Turrell dipped in to visit his Houston studio. As a notable name in the Light and Space movement, it’s no surprise that Turrell strongly influenced this style of work from Montgomery. Robert has also claimed that both Jenny Holtzer and Laurence Weiner influenced his move into merging striking visuals with the written word.

Why Words?

While he didn’t move to explore it immediately, Montgomery's curiosity around language began during his time at Edinburgh College of Art. In the very place that every student finds themselves at some stage – the library. In this space where words are simply unavoidable, Montgomery wandered between bookshelves engaging with the critical theory of names from Jean Baudrillard to Guy Debord. Here, the interest in text-based art began.

With great words come great meaning, and that is exactly what Montgomery aims to convey. Meaning. He spent time discovering how different modes of communication shape how we perceive the world. He wanted his pieces to speak to everyone and to draw out universal feelings from all passers-by. When looking at how to inject his poetry into the world, he began with billboards. Walking down the street, instead of being faced with the freshest fashion campaign or quippy strapline, you were faced with the words of a humanising poetic voice. Aiming to draw attention in the same way as a funky piece of street-art, his installations were created to resonate with reality and act as an accessible point of introspection for all.

From London Streets to the Louvre

Starting on the city streets, from London to New York and Paris, Montgomery’s work quickly piqued the interest of many before the commissions came flooding in. One, a light installation named ‘Echoes of Voices in the High Towers’ for the grounds of Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport.

After being displayed in an airport, Montgomery’s work physically took flight to be held in prestigious collections all around the world. From New York’s Albright Knox to the LVMH collection and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Yinchuan. With a 150-metre-long installation lining a river bridge outside of the museum for the 2016 Yinchuan Biennale. In 2022, the Louvre took to host their first ever exhibition of contemporary art: ‘La Suite de L’Histoire’, featuring Montgomery’s work. However, this was not the first time his poetic installations had paved their way to the famed Parisian gallery. As, in 2014, an iconic fire poem by Montgomery sat flaming in the Louvre gardens.

Hitting the Open Road

Halcyon Gallery are transporting guests to rural settings and road trips with their exhibition, ‘Songs of the Open Road’, running until the 29th September. Fitting in nicely with the themes of the exhibition, Montgomery did quite literally hit the open road for some of his featured pieces. With many of them having been captured from the perspective of a moving vehicle. Each of his newer works are paintings, making a swift return to how he started out prior to the poetry came. Whilst this progresses on from his poetic structures, the selection of paintings are a subtle ode to his light works as based on the location of their installation. And while not in the form of lit-up letters, words do continue to seep into Montgomery’s works. Whether swirling within the skies, or written front-and-centre across the landscapes – his words continue to speak through his paintings.

Montgomery’s latest collection of paintings is based around the M20 motorway, the road that leads from London to his studio in Kent. Captured from the perspective of his car window, the brush strokes are free and loose. This evokes the speed of the moving road beneath the tyres and the briefness of the sights around you as you move on your journey. “You are hurtling by on the motorway, and you see brief glimpses of beauty, the landscape in sunlight, how the light plays on the trees in a beautiful field, glimpses of nature that you are kept separate from and can’t quite reach,” says Montgomery. “There’s a longing to be in that landscape that, from the road, we can’t quite fulfil.”

Stop, Read and Reflect

In a world of growing attachment to phones and media, Montgomery’s work offers an antidote to this image-saturated culture. ‘I see a contemporary world where our consciousness is being increasingly invaded by digital media, and a digital world that seems to be designed to both sell us things, and to create conflict between us,’ says Montgomery. ‘I think our contemporary struggle is to free ourselves from the technological and digital world and put ourselves back into the natural world, back into real space and time, to urgently re-establish our kinship with nature – our connection to trees and sky – and to re-establish our kinship with each other.’

His pieces continue to act as an opportunity for people to stop, read and reflect during their daily lives. Of course, with any trending art installations, the digital got involved and an internet phenomenon took form. Montgomery’s piece ‘The People You Love become Ghosts Inside of You’ has been shared online over 20 million times. The iconic installation is now on display at Halcyon Gallery alongside a selection of Montgomery's other works, including his new M20 paintings.

Songs of the Open Road is running now until the 29th of September at Halcyon Gallery, 148 New Bond Street.

Find out more via halcyongallery.com