Chloe Bates' Curatorial Choice

Here are my five curatorial choices, but I could've chosen at least ten! In no particular order...

After The War by Patsy Cain

I love the muted colour palette of this work, which reinforces its ethereal and surreal feeling. It reminds me of 1960'S/70'S  faded science fiction paperbacks- maybe Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick or Arthur C. Clarke come to mind. The post-apocalyptic contemporary theme in these President Putin/climate emergency times is eerily represented. I initially thought of David Bowie's lyric from ' Drive in Saturday ' which talks about 'the strange ones in the dome'. I love the image of bubble-like domes over an aquatic landscape and the larger scale of this work really increases its quietly assertive impact.  Really well done Patsy!

Everything is going to be ok by Robin Hardman

This iconic photograph is so 'painterly' I thought it was a hyperrealist painting. The piece captures so much absorbed contemplation in the subjects, the light is wonderful, and the painterly feel reminds me of Lucien Freud and Jenny Savages' depiction of light on the skin that they are both so well known for. I also love the atmosphere this piece relates to, I can almost hear the sea and seagulls, the feeling of deep relaxation and troubles left behind. Robin has taken a snapshot of a 'breathing space' we can all relate to and yearn for on our holidays, further reinforced by the title of the piece. You've made the ordinary extraordinary, excellent work Robin!

Isobel 20050214- Isobel.04.png by Isobel Brigham

A quick google search to remind me what a png is brought this up 'The PNG file format is widely used on websites to display high-quality digital images' - this helped me to contextualise the image in this era, despite it being a painting, which can be seen as a more old-fashioned way of depicting images.

This painted image shows a possible birthday scene,  in a semi-realistic and partly surreal way using negative space/silhouettes of a solidly visible child, cake candles, and a silhouette mother figure, with daisies to possibly indicate loss/happy memories that we all (increasingly) record online digitally, rather than in a photograph album. The use of pink and the effective symbolism draws me in and I want to keep looking to find out more. A beautifully relatable and emotive piece, I love this and your other work, Isobel!

Blue Eclipsed by Leavon

This is an eye-catching beautiful and technically elevated painting, it has to me, an almost immersive feeling of actually being underwater. This was further reinforced to me by a visitor to the gallery who used to be a regular scuba diver and told me how much she loved the work's accurate illustration of being around 10 feet underwater, which is where divers have to stop and wait for a time 'hanging' in the water to acclimatise for safety. I find the work peaceful and relaxing to look at, with sparkling detail and technical excellence. Leavon, well done!

No Name by Katy Smith

This partially completed portrait has a completed feel which adds to its intrigue. It is confidently painted and uses negative space and muted grey ground which makes the light flesh tone of the subject's face really 'pop' and draws the eye to it.

I love how effectively the often 'forbidden' black is used carefully with dark blue to depict the arm which takes up most of the portrait. The subjects guarded expression and covered mouth give weight to the title, we are left to guess so much, and this increases the impact of this beautifully thoughtful piece - I really love the style of this Katy, and look forward to seeing more!