‘Sun� A loe� Ra in’ An exh ib i t ion of pa int ings

by Kerry Hard ing

On the edge of scrub� where I grew up�there were many veld fires in the brittle summerand the heat in the heat consumed itselfand the air and land grew blacker and blacker�

I once saw a fire move likecoral lightening across the sandafter a meercat maddenedby the cremating arc�

From ‘Sun� Aloe� Rain’� a poem by Ingrid de Kok

Eighteen months ago Kerry Harding went to live for three years in South Africa� This new body of work is herresponse to the more extreme landscapes� the big open vistas of the coast and mountains of her temporary home�and a further development of her distinctive visual style; the language of her painting influenced by the soft� greytextures and tones of the Cornwall she left behind�

Kerry has continued her working practice of drawing and photographing the landscape� observing the dramaticweather changes and recording the surfaces and atmospheres that feed into her painting� Fynbos� a vegetation typeof the unique biome found only in the Western Cape of South Africa has given her sketchbook a selection of marks�shapes and colours different to any previous landscape studies� The cycle of seasonal fires� crucial to the regenerationof plants� releasing seeds only after fire� have drawn her back time and again to record the fast change from charredearth to vivid green and red re�growth�

The heat of high summer; the smells and noises of the environment together with the sketches and photographscombine to recreate the exhilaration and assault on all the senses of being in that place� when back in her studio�

The sanding process� evident in Kerry’s previous work� reflecting the weathered textures of exposed landscapes aswell as revealing the working history of the painting has developed into the complete stripping away� paring downand in some cases cutting and re�sewing canvas that gives an organic and sculptural feel linked� no doubt� to theprocess of fire followed by renewal seen in the landscape�

With these paintings Kerry Harding has expanded upon an existing vocabulary of marks and surfaces to reveal afresh palette and motifs influenced by the sharp� angular foliage of these extreme environments to create paintingsthat are beautifully subtle yet rich and complex�

‘ Sun � A loe � Ra in ’An exhibit ion of paint ings by Kerry Harding

Cover image: CCaappee VVeelldd Oil on canvas ���cm x ���cm

Saturday ��th September – Sunday ��th September ���

contemporary f ine art

LLeemmoonn aanndd CChhaallkk Oil on canvas ��cm x �cm

NNoooonn SShhaaddee Oil on canvas �cm x ���cm

WWaattssoonniiaa PPiinnkk Oil on canvas ���cm x ���cm

BBrrooaadd WWaatteerr Oil on canvas ��cm x ���cm

SSkkyybboouunndd Oil on canvas �cm x ���cm

GGrreeeenn RRiivveerr Oil on canvas �cm x �cm

NNeebbeelliiaa GGrreeeenn Oil on canvas ��cm x ��cm

LLaauugghh ooff LLiigghhtt Oil on canvas ���cm x ��cm

DDuusskk RReeeeddss Oil on canvas ��cm x ��cm

RRoossee DDuusstt Oil on canvas ���cm x ���cm

VVeelldd EEcchhoo Oil on canvas ���cm x �cm

RRaammbblleerr RRoossee Oil on canvas ���cm x �cm

Education

������� MA Fine Art� Falmouth College of Art� Cornwall������� BA Hons Fine Art� Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art� Oxford University

Selected Exhibitions

��� Michael Obert Contemporary� Johannesburg� South Africa��� Solo and mixed shows� Lemon Street Gallery� Cornwall

Winter Exhibition� Campden Gallery���� NSA critic’s choice at Lemon Street Gallery� Cornwall

Solo and mixed shows� Lemon Street Gallery� CornwallSolo and mixed shows� Campden Gallery� GloucestershireNSA at Thompson’s The City Gallery� London‘Twelve’ LSG at Dundas Street Gallery� Edinburgh� ScotlandArt Miami� Florida USALondon Art Fair with Lemon Street GalleryElected member of Newlyn Society of Artists

���� Solo and mixed shows� Lemon Street Gallery� CornwallSolo and mixed shows� Campden Gallery� Gloucestershire

���� Lemon Street Gallery� CornwallSolo and mixed shows� Bishop Philpotts Gallery� CornwallResidency and solo exhibition� Kidogo Arthouse� Perth International Arts Festival� Western AustraliaShort listed for ROSL scholarship

���� Northcote Road Gallery� LondonBishop Philpotts Gallery� Cornwall

���� Winter Exhibition� South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts� Exeter� DevonSolo Show� Phoenix Gallery� South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts� DevonSolo Show� Falmouth Arts Centre� LondonNorthcote Road Gallery� London

���� Solo and mixed shows� Clapham Art Gallery� LondonNorthcote Road Gallery� London

���� Solo and mixed shows� Clapham Art Gallery� LondonEuroart� Berlin� Germany

MMoossss WWaatteerrffaallll Oil on canvas ��cm x ��cm

High St reet � Ch ipp ing CampdenGloucestersh i re GL�� AG

Te l : ��� ����� Fax : ��� � ��info@campdenga l le ry � co �uk www�campdenga l le ry � co �uk

Open Tues to Sat �� ���am – � ���pmSunday � � ���am – � ���pm