Lily Senner and Tom Hemming, two boldly original artists on display with New Blood Art, both have their first solo show coming up, which is hugely exciting. It’s something to celebrate: that a physical gallery has the confidence in an artist to platform their work in this way. Solo shows are reference points in the development of an artist’s careers. It can often be an investment juncture, for the artist, signaling increase in value, as Sarah explains:
It’s not surprising, is it, that this would be the case: a particular gallery is excited enough about the artist to invest in a solo show, then that particular artist gains an increased collector base from the increase in exposure and recognition. Solo shows are undoubtedly a relevant marker from an investment point of view.
Earlier this year we profiled Lily’s work in relation to David Hockney, because she also uses her gift for colour to a joyful effect. The intense hues that saturate her scenes make them pulsate: transfiguring them through an amplified sensory experience, using sophisticated perspective and depth. Of Hockney Lily admires his “sensual yet visually playful scenes” as well as his “honesty”: the ability he has of capturing “something extraordinary within relatively ordinary landscapes”, which we find to be an aspect of her work too. Lily’s first solo show follows multiple group shows across the UK and in Tokyo since her graduation from Newcastle University.
Tom Hemming’s work has been showing alongside other artists over the past few years, particularly in London. In his work featuring striking images of people – both frenetic and intimate – the artist attempts “to express movement. Not so much the movement of a figure… but more the passage of time made visible” He seeks “to engage in a dialogue that has existed throughout the history of painting” and “to pursue an emotional intensity through the accumulation of rapidly made gestural marks and constant re-working.” The work is very personal to him: it’s of his close friends and family, using video footage he shoots in relaxed, unguarded circumstances.
“I don’t consider the paintings to be portraits, rather an attempt to record the sensations of a specific moment in time.”
Tom will be showing at the Lewisham Arthouse, the Brockley Max arts festival, and Lewisham Borough of Culture 2022 celebrations, between May 26th and June 5th.
Lily will be showing at the Gallagher & Turner gallery in Newcastle. Preview opening July 14th, with the show then running for a month.
Read more about Lily Senner:
The Arrival of Spring: David Hockney and Three Emerging Artists