A Moment in Time captured in new West Sussex exhibition

The show is at The Mill Studio, New House Farm Barns, Ford Lane, Ford, Arundel, BN18 0EF.

Gallery director Holly Fox-Lee said: “In this duo exhibition, Catherine Knight and Lucinda Oestreicher capture natural landscapes distilled in time. These paintings created in Eryri (Snowdonia) and the Sussex Downs expose the elusive and ephemeral characteristics of the natural world that give it such power and majesty. Both artists explore themes of freedom and containment and interior and exterior worlds. A Moment in Time offers scenes that are at once familiar but so fleeting they are rarely captured outside our own memories. Catherine and Lucinda both studied at Bath Spa University almost 30 years apart and yet shared the experience of ground-breaking tutors such as Maria Lalic and Michael Simpson. The artists are similarly drawn to nature, inspired by both the uncontrollable factors of working outdoors and the sensation of capturing a specific moment in time that feels unique to the season and locale.

“In mid-2023 Catherine Knight was awarded the Mawddach residency providing her with the opportunity to fully immerse herself in working from the natural landscape of Eryri. The artist found herself transfixed by the sense of time passing from a single window overlooking the Mawddach estuary which seemed to frame and contain the vastness of the sky beyond.

“Lucinda Oestreicher’s Sussex landscapes are similarly imbued with a sense of a narrative. There is a wonderful familiarity repeated in various scales and intensity running through her work. Despite the obvious absence of people within the paintings, there are small reminders of the human presence within the landscape, a crooked fencepost or a barn shrouded in shadow. Oestreicher often chooses to paint a well-trodden path on the brow of a hill rather than a more dramatic view of a sprawling valley for instance, and yet it is this very choice that makes her paintings so convincing. You can almost feel the cold winter wind rushing across the hillside as the path opens up before her.”

Holly added: “Launched in 2023, Weald Contemporary is a nomadic gallery and consultancy based in West Sussex. We believe that art should be accessible to everyone and provide both an exhibition space and tailored mentorship to emerging and mid-career artists. We promote connection and collaboration through art, encouraging the next generation of artists to see and be seen. Last year, we launched our online shop which features accessibly-priced paintings, prints, drawings and ceramics by artists who work in Sussex and the south. These artworks, and those from our current exhibition can be purchased directly through this platform or here at the gallery.”

Monday closed; Tuesday closed; Wednesday 10am-3pm; Thursday 10am-3pm; Friday 10am-3pm; Saturday 10am-4pm; Sunday 10am-4pm. Visitors are not required to buy tickets. General entry free.