LONDON.- Pictorum Gallery will present Noises in the Florid Sky, a solo presentation by Lydia Hamblet. Exploring themes of weather, movement and memory, the exhibition is the artist’s first solo show with the gallery.
Showcasing an incredible eighteen new paintings, Hamblet transforms the gallery space into an immersive, energetic environment where the viewer is enveloped by a vibrant symphony of colour. Within this ambitious new body of work, Hamblet delves deeper into her fascination with the weather. The exhibition title, Noises in the Florid Sky, is inspired by Richard Mabey’s 2013 book Turned Out Nice Again: Living With The Weather. Within this book, Mabey weaves together science, art and memoirs (including his own) to show the weather’s impact on our culture and national psyche. The reference to ‘Florid Sky’ is also taken from the poem Electromagnetic by Emily Rothko, where she writes “Disruptions in the Florid Sky … An inner weather grows out of the atmosphere”. This quote is something that Hamblet refers back to often when making work, directly informing and impacting her practice.
A truly British topic, the weather has preoccupied Hamblet’s research for the past four years. The artist follows a well-trodden path of myths, love affairs and mysteries that surround how we interact with the weather. Noises in the Florid Sky provides access to the artists’ personal narratives, memories and emotions - we see how colour and form take precedence in her large scale abstract pieces, responding directly to her lived experiences and surroundings, and engulfing the viewer in her inner world.
Often referring to a specific quote by Marcel Proust when making work ‘We relive our past years not in their continuous sequence, day by day, but in a memory focused upon the coolness or the sunshine of some morning or afternoon’, this solo presentation creates a welcome relief from the complexities of every-day life, and encourages a quiet self-reflection and contemplation.
The exhibition is accompanied by a limited edition publication of drawings by the artist, and a catalogue essay by Tom Morton.
Pictorum Gallery London is a contemporary art gallery that presents exceptional artists from around the world, based in Portman Square. The Gallery presents up-to-date and highly curated exhibitions, with a specific focus on Women and POC artists. Pictorum Gallery seeks to nurture and incubate new talent by offering artists a dynamic, inclusive, and supportive environment through which they can be introduced to both our London-based and international collectors.
Lydia Hamblet’s practice spans painting, print, drawing and public installation. Reflecting on shared encounters, her work invites the viewer to consider contemporary life, not in its traditional pop language, but through the energies and situations that bring it into being. Marcel Proust writes ‘We relive our past years not in their continuous sequence, day by day, but in a memory focused upon the coolness or the sunshine of some morning or afternoon.’ Colour and form take precedence, with a powerful sense of movement generated through her large scale works. Noises in the Florid Sky will be the artists’ first solo exhibition with the gallery.
Lydia Hamblet graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2020, and previously from Camberwell College of Art. She recently presented a solo exhibition of work including a major new commission at AMP Gallery, London. Previous exhibitions include group shows with Pictorum Gallery, WHO Gallery, Felt Collections, SZN Gallery, Aora Space, The Auction Collective, Saatchi Gallery and Peer Gallery. She is also the recipient of the 2020 Clifford Chance Printmaker’s Purchase Prize and the Kingsgate Project Space 16:9 Billboard Commission.
