Keith Cunningham’s nude artworks are among the most formally distilled expressions of his sustained interest in the human figure. Eschewing traditional notions of sensuality or idealisation, Cunningham approached the nude with a clear, disciplined eye, treating the body not as subject but as structure, gesture and space. In his drawings, the nude is often rendered with remarkable economy. Figures are pared back to their essentials — curves, angles, weight — and placed within open, empty grounds. There is no attempt at narrative or decorative composition; rather, each drawing becomes a study in balance and restraint. His observation is exacting, leaving space for emotional interpretation.

Cunningham’s nudes, departing from artistic studies undertook during his years at the Royal College of Art, are quiet but arresting. They reflect a rigorous formal enquiry into proportion, posture and the interaction of figure and space. Yet, they also carry emotional weight. The sense of containment, of physical and psychological tension, is always present. These works do not offer answers; they ask questions about presence, perception and the body as a site of expression and meaning.