River Landscapes: Edges and Echoes
Joint exhibition, White Cube Gallery, Harrow Arts Centre
A painterly investigation into the amorphous possibilities of rivers and how they shape the landscape through their distinctive meanderings. As they respond to the ever-present reverberations of climate effects, rivers continue to evolve. From deep river gorges to flooded swampy wetlands and dry riverbeds, the paintings explore rivers and the dynamic impact they have on their surrounding areas.
Arlene Sharp and Dhama Thanigasapapathy base their respective practices on the natural environment; sketching, photographing and exploring while immersed in the changing landscape. Both artists gradually evolve their work through multiple layers into semi-abstract paintings that still retain convincing details of the places they inhabit. Arlene finds inspiration in the shape and colour of landscape and nature, using acrylics, collage and other mixed media to capture the essence of a place. Dhama paints mainly in oils, allowing the flows, drips and chemical interactions of paint to echo natural processes; creating an invented narrative where the familiar landscape is transformed into a sublime otherworldly place by extreme climate change.
'I imagine this is the way landscape painting should be approached!' '...a refreshing and vibrant exhibition' (Visitor comments)
Around 25 paintings were brought together to create a visually dynamic and cohesive exhibition. From the two large paintings of Richmond river views which illuminated the back wall of the gallery, to the grid of 8 small square canvases and the expressive sketchbook work, the show demonstrated the depth of research and background work undertaken by the artists.
Speaking to PINNERnews about the exhibition, the artists said:'We were committed to producing an exhibition which showed our paintings at their best within the gallery space. We were delighted with the curatorial decisions we took and look forward to future collaborative ventures. We'd like to thank everyone who visited our exhibition for their support'
Curious Space: Transitions in Landscape
Willesden Gallery, London
July 2024
The ArtLab23 Artist Collective invites audiences to explore human connections with the landscape through the emotional language of memory and imagination.
Humans have always had an emotional connection with the environment. From the time our ancestors first explored and made sense of the places around them, they have layered their experiences with their own fears, hopes and aspirations. And just like humans, the landscapes themselves are never static. From the immediate shifts in perception as a bright sunny day becomes cloudy to the erosion of mountains over millions of years, a landscape is in constant flux.
Curious Space: Transitions in Landscape takes a subjective look at places where different elements of the landscape collide; where colour, light and form shifts and what was one thing is now another. The works, ranging from semi-figurative to more abstract, show how each artist interprets the shifting landscape according to their personal relationship with it.
9th - 20th July: Willesden Gallery, London, NW10
Photo Credits: Colin Sharp colinsharpphotography.com
Painted Space: Remembering Gilbert’s Lake
White Cube Gallery, Harrow
September 2022
The exhibition is inspired by the local area of Grimsdyke Woods at Old Redding, Harrow Weald, home to the late 19th-century dramatist, librettist and poet W.S. Gilbert.
The work, comprising paintings and photographs, takes inspiration from the woodland, particularly the ornamental lake - Gilbert’s Lake - and from the writing of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962)
The exhibition has been curated with the space of the woodland in mind.
‘It was important to replicate that sense of space, the things we experience when walking through woodland, such as the impression of things overlapping or obscuring, a vista opening up or random points of interest high up and low down on the ground.’ (Arlene Sharp, 2022)
Arlene’s work is inspired by the natural world, by landscape and organic form. She is completing the final stage of her Painting degree with the Open College of the Arts. She was recently nominated for the Freelands Foundation Painting Prize 2022, and her work has featured in several college shows and publications.
“Wild About Nature” Open Afternoon, Old Redding, Harrow Weald
October, 2022
Following the ‘Painted Space’ exhibition, I was delighted to be invited to display my canvases as an Art Trail at an event organised by the Harrow Nature Conservation Forum.
The canvases were situated along the path which runs around Gilbert’s lake, hung in the trees and spaces that had inspired them.
For more details, see Painted Space Project