'Encounter' Solo Exhibition Sat 20 - Sun 21 November 2010

LEIGHTON SPACE  3 Leighton Place  London  NW5 2QL

Artist Sharon Drew presents Encounter a series of new and unseen paintings, as the opening exhibition at Kentish Town's new arts venue Leighton Space.

The exploration of colour has always been a central theme to Drew's work, however, this new series reflects a development towards a freer and more fluid way of working. Diluted paint floods the surface and is overlaid with twisting, streaks of thick paint. Her paintings are shaped by the environments she experiences. These are as diverse as the urban streets of East London, the sprawling wilderness of Epping Forest and the 'Mediterranean' light of the Cornish Riviera.

Talking about her new work, Sharon Drew says: I frequently travel from one area to the other and so each location seems fresh, unbelievable and exciting. Living in Walthamstow, on the edge of East London, I am faced with the abrupt transition from street to forest. There is an energy created by the clash or fusion where these opposing worlds meet which continues to astonish and enthrall me and is the impetus for this new work.

Encounter suggests a meeting of these elements, both in the paintings and in the landscape. Forms grow, erode, jostle, subsume, displace or coexist. Skies, seas, forest and walls are alluded to and synthesized into energetic, feisty abstract paintings.

This exhibition is open for one weekend only and includes a range of work, from large-scale abstract acrylic paintings on canvas, to small landscape studies on paper.