SIGHTLINES:

TWO ARTISTS FROM CORNWALL

8th October – 9th November 2205

SIGHTLINES presents recent oil paintings by established Cornwall-based artists LIZ HOUGH and SALLY SPENS. For Hough, a passionate wild swimmer, the coast provides fertile ground for inspiration. Spens turns to the enchantment of Cornish gardens, the fleeting early spring-flare of star magnolia, and captivating cascades of May wisteria.

Both artists begin with immersive and intent observation from life; impressions of flower and seascape, which they transform in strikingly distinct ways. The precise and careful work of Spens emphasises compositional balance through restraint. Her paintings, rendered in a soft palette of greens and pinks evocative of nostalgia and the decorative arts tradition, suggest tranquil meditation.

Hough, embracing experimentation, leans further into improvisation. Accidental drips and the marks left by brush and paint often remain on the surface of her paintings. Through her openness she examines embodied response to land and seascapes, challenging the beholder to reflect on the very nature of visual perception, articulated through the primal oscillation of moon and tide.

In their complementary practices, Sally Spens and Liz Hough translate intimate encounters into layered fields of colour and recurring motif in compositions which invite slower consideration. Their paintings situate contemporary Cornish abstraction within broader art-historical currents, while prompting a re-evaluation of its persistent resonance.