Spanning seven decades of Anthony Whishaw's artistic practice, this display brings together groups of works centered around recurring themes that have consistently captivated the artist: movement, figures, nature, and the illustration of space. 

In the studio, Whishaw arranged works of varying sizes and at various stages of development in close proximity, to foster a dialogue between them and guide them toward completion. 

"As I want to discover rather than copy or illustrate, the painting dictates its own future in the sense that I cannot work on it unless it suggests the next step. Often there are mental or emotional blocks and the work will remain dormant for weeks, sometimes months or even years. One strategy to overcome this is to shuffle the works around each other and between studios to meet up with other works. Frequently there is some cross fertilisation of ideas and hybrids can form. As a result, I work on many paintings at varying scales and stages of resolution which may result in quite unexpected outcomes." Anthony Whishaw RA.

The exhibition is on until 18 August in Sir Hugh Casson Room & Belle Shenkman Room, Keeper's House, Royal Academy.

Slim Trees, 2012-5