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Lovely Stack by Patrick Hughes
- This Patrick Hughes painting is a striking homage to iconic works in contemporary art
- Hughes creates a dynamic optical illusion in which the composition appears to shift
- In this vertical arrangement, he constructs a tower of instantly recognizable works
- Hughes’ practice is rooted in decades of investigation into perception, paradox and spatial cognition
- Get complete item description here
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b. 1939 | British
Lovely Stack
Signed, titled and dated “Lovely Stack / Patrick Hughes / 2026” (en verso)
Oil on panel
A striking homage to some of the most iconic works in modern and contemporary art, Lovely Stack exemplifies Patrick Hughes’ celebrated "reverspective" technique. Through ingeniously constructed and painted three-dimensional forms, Hughes creates a dynamic optical illusion in which the composition appears to shift as the viewer moves. In. . .
b. 1939 | British
Lovely Stack
Signed, titled and dated “Lovely Stack / Patrick Hughes / 2026” (en verso)
Oil on panel
A striking homage to some of the most iconic works in modern and contemporary art, Lovely Stack exemplifies Patrick Hughes’ celebrated "reverspective" technique. Through ingeniously constructed and painted three-dimensional forms, Hughes creates a dynamic optical illusion in which the composition appears to shift as the viewer moves. In this vertical arrangement, he constructs a surreal tower of instantly recognizable artworks, resulting in a playful yet intellectually charged meditation on the visual language of art history and contemporary culture.
At the base rests a painted chair inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s Chair, supporting a sky-and-rainbow patterned box referencing Hughes’ own Solid Sky. Above, a shark appears suspended within an aquarium, evoking Damien Hirst’s iconic conceptual work, The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Caught in the shark’s open mouth is a Balloon Dog from Jeff Koons, a pointed gesture that folds Koons’ glossy pop exuberance into Hirst’s clinical spectacle.
Layered above are folded, blanket-like forms that reference Maria Watts’ Blanket Story and its poetic meditation on material memory. The composition culminates in Robert Indiana’s LOVE, anchoring the stack with one of the most recognizable symbols of contemporary art. The illusionistic construction intensifies the sense of instability, as each element appears to tilt, hover and shift with the viewer’s movement.
Hughes’ practice is rooted in decades of investigation into perception, paradox and spatial cognition. Since his first "reverspective" installation, Sticking-Out Room (1964) at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, he has developed a distinctive visual language that fuses architectural structure with painted illusion. His work draws upon both scientific inquiry and conceptual art traditions, reflecting his academic background, including a doctorate in science from King’s College London in the psychology of perception. His works are held in major institutional collections, including the British Library and the British Academy, affirming his significance as both innovator and theorist of visual illusion.
Dated 2026
Panel: 33 5/8" high x 15 7/8" wide (85.4 x 40.3 cm)
Frame: 35 3/4" high x 18" wide x 6 1/2" deep (90.8 x 45.7 x 16.5 cm)
| Maker: | Hughes, Patrick |
| Period: | 1919-Present |
| Origin: | England |
| Type: | Paintings |
| Style: | Postmodernism |
| Depth: | 6.5 in. (16.51 cm) |
| Width: | 18.0 in. (45.72 cm) |
| Height: | 35.75 in. (90.81 cm) |
| Canvas Width: | 15.875 in. (40.32 cm) |
| Canvas Height: | 33.625 in. (85.41 cm) |
Buy With Confidence
For over a century, we've placed important art, rare jewels and exceptional objects with more than 14,000 collectors worldwide, and have been recognized by trusted publications including Robb Report, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and more.
On Approval
Examine select works in person before you commit
125% Guarantee
Full credit plus 5% annual appreciation for five years
Trusted Expertise
Over two centuries of combined experience across our specialists
