‘Beyond Now’ - Bethany Holmes
Sunday 6th December at 10am
Highgate Contemporary Art is delighted to present Beyond Now a solo exhibition featuring a new collection of paintings by abstract artist Bethany Holmes.
A key inspiration behind this work is the idea of fresh, new beginnings which are reflected in her palette. The use of sap and emerald greens serving as a nod to the colours of the British Landscape combined with muted tones of yellows, oranges and pinks. Each painting has a carefully composed area of light perhaps representative of hope, of looking forward to a time when things are different to when life feels a little less difficult, a time beyond now.
Comprised of fifteen paintings of varying size on canvas, paper and board, this is the first solo exhibition that Holmes has had with the gallery, and the very first solo exhibition that we have run exclusively online. Her consistent style of work is seen throughout this collection. She prepares each canvas, building up a multitude of loose, bold marks in acrylic paint that set out the main areas and features of her composition. In these early stages of painting her studio becomes a reflection of the speed and energy with which she paints, palettes, rags and paint leaden brushes litter the floor in a kind of organised chaos that comes with the rush of ideas and emotion that she wants to translate onto the canvas as quickly as possible before they are forgotten.
What follows is the lengthy process of organising these gestural marks into a composition that makes sense, that conveys the feeling of energy, strength, stillness, or serenity that Holmes sets out to create. Using rags to remove and blend areas of paint, and tools that scratch into the surface to create different marks which add areas of interest and texture. She layers paint with consideration. Her process is like a quest for comfort, stillness and understanding in the chaos of her studio, unintentionally resonating with the current situation of the world outside.
These paintings really give you a sense of Holmes’ love and respect for nature with pieces being evocative of early morning mist and rain, waterlogged fields and turbulent seas. Upon viewing this collection you get a real sense that she wants her interpretation of a landscapes atmosphere to do justice to the natural beauty of her surrounds.
