Introducing Artist Mike Hanny

Painter

Come to the gallery to see these wonderful paintings up close

🖤 Tribute to Mike Hanny (1947-2024) Plymouth’s Painter of Quiet Corners Mike past away this year and we’re honored to host the work of the late Mike Hanny—an artist whose vision captured the soul of Plymouth in its stillest hours. Mike’s paintings speak in hushed tones, drawing us into the city’s early-morning solitude, its flickering shopfronts, and the quiet tension of urban life. A graduate of Plymouth University and former lecturer at Plymouth and Torquay Art Schools, Mike blended commercial precision with poetic abstraction. His process was deeply intuitive—eschewing sketches and photos in favor of automatic mark-making, letting the city’s impressions emerge organically through paint. His work has appeared in UK and European exhibitions, and his piece The Box, Plymouth reached auction acclaim in 2021. But beyond accolades, Mike’s legacy lives in the way his art makes us pause, reflect, and feel the pulse of a city waking up. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, and our gratitude for sharing his work with us. It’s a privilege to help preserve and celebrate his vision.

Artist Biography

- He studied Fine Art at Plymouth University and later lectured at Plymouth Art School. - His studio was based in the city, and his work often reflected the gritty, poetic tension of Plymouth’s urban spaces—especially the quiet hours between 4 and 6 a.m., when the city was still and surreal. - He had a background in commercial art, doing everything from signage to architectural scale models, which fed into his layered, conceptual approach to painting.

- Hanny’s work explored inner-city life with a mix of dystopian realism and abstract mark-making. - He avoided photography or sketching, instead relying on “automatic mark making” in the evenings—letting ideas emerge organically from subconscious impressions. - His paintings often juxtaposed vibrant shopfronts with darker, lurking corners of urban life.