Quercus Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition of work by Dorset-based painter, Vanessa Gardiner.  Edge Lines introduces new paintings and drawings of Cornwall, together with selected paintings from recent visits to Greece.

View the online exhibition catalogue here.
Hard copy Catalogues may be ordered through the gallery £10 plus p£p

View images of all works in the show here.

Vanessa Gardiner has always been drawn towards the natural geometry of coastal regions, particularly the Cornish peninsulas around Boscastle and more recently the Attica coastline.  These coastal areas offer an absorbing combination of elements; it is these intersecting cliff points, sky lines and ocean planes that form the raw visual ingredients for her work.  

For this exhibition, I have returned to the Atlantic coastline around Boscastle, North Cornwall – a dramatically contorted landscape I have known for many years.  Here the natural crook of the harbour is almost enclosed by the precipitous forms of the dark-slate cliffs.  It is from these high vantage points that I like to base my paintings and I start with a series of closely-observed drawings which I use to compose the pictures back in the studio.

When making these new works I have increasingly been focusing down towards the harbour entrance or out over the headlands, beyond the promontory to where the vast sweep of this panoramic coastline looks out towards Pentargon and Beeny.  The line of the coast path intriguingly follows the contours of the cliffs, which in turn is echoed by the white surf of the sea.  

This exhibition draws attention to Vanessa’s distinctive visual language and the unique way in which she observes, distills and reorders the edge lines of a landscape in her paintings.

During this exhibition the gallery will also be introducing a collection of jewellery by
Grace Girvan.  Inspired by found objects from Scotland’s shorelines, Grace combines pebbles and driftwood with silver and enamel to create beautiful, unusual jewellery.