ABOUT MARTIN HYDE
UK CONCEPTUAL PAINTER & ABSTRACT ARTIST
UK CONCEPTUAL PAINTER & ABSTRACT ARTIST
CONCEPTUAL APPROACH
Martin Hyde is a UK-based conceptual and abstract artist with over 20 years of professional practice. Working in series, his paintings move between abstraction and figuration, with each body of work exploring a distinct concept. His practice investigates themes of identity, masking, and shifting states of self. Through layered imagery and symbolic motifs, his work reflects the complexities of human experience and the tension between systems and spontaneity.
EXHIBITIONS AND COLLECTIONS
Hyde’s work has been exhibited widely in the UK and recognised through major national awards and exhibitions. His paintings are held in private and corporate collections, including three works acquired by Claridge’s London in 2018. He was shortlisted for the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize (London, 2017), one of the UK’s leading awards for emerging artists, and selected for the RBSA Open (Birmingham, 2018 and 2019), a prestigious national open exhibition. Solo exhibitions include Suspension (Dubrek Gallery, 2022), Spirit (Déda Gallery, Derby, 2018), and A Simplification of Everything (Banks Mill, 2018). Alongside these, his work has been shown at regional festivals such as the Wirksworth and Melbourne Festivals, and at Haarlem Studios in Derbyshire.
RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
Hyde has been profiled in Flux Review magazine, and in 2025 his work was chosen for a cover feature for the International Journal of Art Therapy. Earlier in his career, he was twice a finalist in the AOI Best of British Illustration Awards (2010, 2011), and in 2005 a finalist for Europrix Designer of the Year. These achievements reflect a practice recognised both within fine art and across creative disciplines.
COLLABORATIONS
Beyond the gallery, Hyde’s paintings have found a home in the music world. His artwork has been featured on album and single covers for artists including Joan as Police Woman (Joan Wasser), Lau, Kris Drever, Dan Whitehouse, Chris Cleverley, Max ZT, Staran, and The Little Unsaid. These collaborations reflect the versatility and cultural reach of his practice, bringing his bold use of colour, texture, and layered composition into dialogue with sound and performance.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
Hyde holds an MA with Distinction in Multimedia from Staffordshire University (2004). From 2023–2025 he studied for an MA in Art Psychotherapy at the University of Derby. This training allowed him to grow his practice both theoretically and through working in a range of media beyond painting. His independent study focused on masking, further expanding his long-standing exploration of identity and self-presentation. As part of the course, he participated in the MA Art Therapy Degree Show at the University of Derby (2025), which presented works developed through this research. While his art is not created as therapy, this background deepens his sensitivity to psychological depth, narrative, and the transformative power of image-making.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“My paintings are a way of holding shifting inner states in a visible form — fragments of identity, moments of collapse, and acts of repair. Each series develops from a central idea, evolving through repetition and variation, echoing the cycles of struggle and renewal that shape lived experience. Recurring symbols of containment and release reflect my interest in masking, identity, and belonging, while the balance between fragility and strength runs throughout the work. I aim to create paintings that resonate both visually and emotionally, offering space for viewers to encounter their own meanings, while carrying an undercurrent of melancholy, optimism, and hope.”