‘Vibrant Life’ a solo exhibition by Eleanor May Watson

About ‘Vibrant Life’ exhibition

Meakin + Parsons, in partnership with Hannah Payne, have a solo exhibition of new paintings by British contemporary artist Eleanor May Watson, ‘Vibrant Life’, opening at the gallery on Oxford’s North Parade Avenue, from 05 October to 29 October 2022.

Eleanor May Watson (b. 1990) graduated with a Masters in Fine Art, at City & Guilds of London Art School in 2019, following a year at The Royal Drawing School, and after gaining a First Class BA (Hons) in Fine Art Painting at Wimbledon College of Art.

Working primarily in oil paint, watercolour, and monotype printmaking, the artist now lives and works in Kent. Her recent paintings capture moments of light passing across objects within intimate scenes of domestic
interiors.

‘Vibrant Life’ includes a series of brand-new paintings presented for the first time at Meakin + Parsons in Oxford.

Beginning with found images from still life, art history, and opulent stately interiors, unassuming scenes are made sublime through the artists’ delicate and intuitive touch.

Whilst referencing the genre of still life, Watson’s paintings hover somewhere between realism and abstraction, investigating interior spaces with suggested absences that are laden with narrative possibility.

The title of the exhibition encapsulates a kind of intensity of lived experience that relates to the artist’s energetic use of colour and gestural marks; There is a fecundity or ripeness to the works, which reflects a significant period of time for the artist.

“As the content of my work has become more personal and inward-looking, the process of painting has become more urgent, allowing for the world of the picture to have space to expand and develop as I make it.

“It is important for me to move between medium and scales. I think it is to do with invention and reinvention. The world of a small painting relates to but works entirely differently from that of a large piece. Watercolour pushed me to explore chance; oil paint enables me to experience colour and gesture more vividly.” (Eleanor May Watson, 2022)

Private view:
Friday 07 October 6.00pm to 8.00pm

Gallery open times:
Tuesday to Friday from 10.00am to 6.00pm
Saturdays from 10.00am to 4.00pm
Sunday and Monday closed.