Reminiscence is the fourth solo exhibition of Anna Somerville with the Gallery. Anna moves away from oil paint, using a variety of materials, including spray paint, inks, bleach, acrylic and raw pigment. Anna creates a strong sense of depth in her paintings by layering mixed media and adding and subtracting sections of paint. This technique of accumulating and burying textures explores the surface and its composition, which mimics acts of nature on the landscape.
Inspired by a recent trip to Gairloch in the Scottish Highlands, Anna was struck by the dramatic landscape and views over lochs, shoreline, sea, hills and mountains. The artist endeavours to create an impression of the landscape, a sense of place and a feeling of nostalgia.
I was particularly taken by the coastal battery site at Rubha Nan Sasan Cove and the surrounding landscape, where wartime lookouts perfectly frame the turbulent, moody sea and the mountains and sky in the distance beyond. Steeped in history, I consider the surfaces of these cement structures to be ‘found paintings’, rich with texture, colour and gestural marks, exposing the passage of time in salt, water and rust.
These weathered materials are an exploration of balance between the man-made and natural environment. Anna discovers ‘found paintings’ on weathered walls and surfaces, which she interprets as perfectly resolved abstract paintings. Inspired by the language of other painters, such as Antoni Tàpies and Joan Eardley, Anna instinctively conjures up memories of place, human connections and moments in time.
I try to achieve balanced and dynamic compositions by keeping my paintings in motion, regularly turning them, often working on the floor, and moving between creative areas of expanse, depth and surface.
Anna’s paintings are neither figurative nor abstract, as they capture the feeling of multiple landscapes. The works do not replicate particular moments or scenes but are interpretations of different atmospheres. Anna expresses the sensory experience of a landscape through different textures, colours, shapes and movement. “Reminiscence” explores Anna’s emotional and physical response to the world that surrounds us.
