The Intersection of Truth and Intimacy: The Photorealistic Artworks of Narelle Zeller

Narelle Zeller is a prominent Australian representational artist whose practice is defined by a meticulous commitment to photorealism and a profound exploration of the human condition. Based in Canberra, Zeller has emerged as a leading figure in contemporary realism, blending technical precision with an emotionally resonant narrative style. Her work, primarily executed in oil on panel or canvas, transcends mere mimicry of photography, seeking instead to capture the "truth and beauty" inherent in her subjects.

Artistic Philosophy and Technique

Largely self-taught, Zeller’s journey into the world of fine art is a testament to the power of observation and disciplined practice. Her technique is grounded in the traditions of classical realism, yet it is informed by modern mentorships with renowned artists such as David Kassan and Shana Levenson. Zeller employs an indirect, intuitive approach to oil painting, often utilizing high-resolution photography as a primary reference—a hallmark of the photorealist movement.

However, Zeller’s work is distinguished from clinical photorealism by its focus on intimacy. She uses the precision of oil paint not just to replicate textures, but to build a bridge between the viewer and the subject’s internal world. Her process is notably slow and deliberate; for instance, her acclaimed piece Bury Me With a Mandarin reportedly took eight to nine months to complete, reflecting a level of dedication that allows for the layering of both paint and meaning.

Key Themes and Notable Artworks

Zeller’s oeuvre frequently explores narrative portraiture and the natural world. Her subjects are often people from her immediate environment, and her paintings aim to tell their stories with honesty and authenticity.

Narelle Zeller

Venus in Lace Armour, 2025

Oil on acm panel

20 1/2 × 10 1/5 in | 52 × 26 cm

Global Recognition and Achievements

Narelle Zeller’s excellence has been recognized by the most prestigious institutions in the realm of representational art. She is an Associate Living Master of the Art Renewal Center (ARC), an honor reserved for artists who have demonstrated a superior level of skill in the classical traditions.

Her accolades include:

• 1st Place in Still Life at the 16th International ARC Salon (2023).

• Chairman’s Award at the 18th International ARC Salon Competition (2026).

• Fine Art Connoisseur Award at the 17th International ARC Salon.

• Finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Darling Portrait Prize, and the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award.

Zeller’s work has been exhibited internationally, from the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona to galleries in New York and Chicago. Her paintings are held in the permanent collection of the Art Renewal Center and numerous private collections worldwide.

Conclusion

Narelle Zeller’s contribution to contemporary photorealism lies in her ability to infuse technical perfection with a palpable soul. By focusing on the subtle details of the human face and the symbolic potential of the natural world, she creates a space for viewers to connect with stories that are both deeply personal and universally shared. As she continues to garner international acclaim, Zeller remains a vital voice in the enduring tradition of representational art, proving that the pursuit of realism is, at its heart, a pursuit of human connection.

References

1.Narelle Zeller Official Website - About

2.Artsy - Narelle Zeller Profile

3.Art Renewal Center - Narelle Zeller Portfolio

4.The Canberra Times - "The Canberran who captured Aunty Matilda's story"

5.Realism Today - "Realism Art How-To: Brave New Worker"

Brave New Worker: A Modern Commentary

One of Zeller’s most recognized pieces, Brave New Worker, serves as a historical document of the early 2020s. By capturing the duality of the "work-from-home" era—business on top, comfort on the bottom—Zeller moved beyond traditional portraiture to provide a relatable, humorous, yet technically flawless commentary on a global shift in the human experience. The painting received a "Highly Commended" award at The Lester Prize for Portraiture in 2021.

The Oneiric Visions of Erica Calardo

In the contemporary art landscape, few artists manage to bridge the gap between the rigorous precision of mathematical logic and the ethereal, often haunting beauty of figurative painting. Erica Calardo, an Italian artist based in the historic heart of Bologna, achieves this with a mastery that feels both timeless and profoundly modern. Her recent viewing room at 33 Contemporary on Artsy offers a captivating window into her "oneiric" world—a realm where the solitude of lost souls meets the grandeur of the Italian Renaissance.

From Logic to Linen: The Artist’s Evolution

Erica Calardo’s path to the easel is as unconventional as her subjects. Born in Genoa in 1980, she spent a decade as an academic researcher, holding a PhD in mathematical logic. This background in the abstract and the structured informs the underlying clarity and symbolic depth of her work. Today, her atelier in Bologna—surrounded by ancient stones, warm colors, and the mysteries of old masters—serves as the crucible for her visions.

Calardo is largely self-taught, having honed her skills through "old dusty books" before studying under the renowned Italian master Roberto Ferri. Her technique is deeply rooted in the Italian tradition, drawing inspiration from Mannerist and Renaissance icons such as Leonardo da Vinci, Bronzino, and Lavinia Fontana.

The Aesthetic of the "Oneiric" Feminine

Calardo’s paintings are characterized by what she describes as "oneiric feminine figures." These are not merely portraits; they are windows into a timeless past, telling tales of forgotten dreams and the "solitude of lost souls." Her work explores the delicate intersection of:

• Beauty and the Grotesque: Finding grace in the unsettling and the eerie.

• Magic and Mystery: Infusing figurative realism with a sense of the supernatural.

• Solitude: Capturing the quiet, introspective moments of her subjects.

Her palette often reflects the "warm colors" of Bologna, yet her subjects frequently inhabit dark, atmospheric spaces that evoke the "memento mori" of the Victorian age and the haunting atmosphere of ghost stories.

Erica Calardo

Magdalena, 2021

Oil on linen

40 × 27 1/2 in | 101.6 × 69.9 cm

A Dialogue with the Past

One of the most striking aspects of Calardo’s work is her ability to engage in a dialogue with art history. Her portraits of Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, and Frida Kahlo are not just likenesses; they are acts of artistic lineage. By painting these women, Calardo situates herself within a tradition of female surrealists and figurative painters who used the human form to explore the depths of the psyche.

Her work Suspirium (2020) and Magdalena (2021) further demonstrate her ability to take classical themes—the breath of life, the penitent figure—and imbue them with a contemporary, slightly punk-rock edge. This fusion of the baroque and the rebellious is what makes her work so distinctive in the current figurative scene.

Conclusion: Living in a Dream

For Erica Calardo, being an artist is "like living every day in a dream." This sentiment is palpable in every brushstroke of the works featured in the 33 Contemporary viewing room. Whether she is exploring the "solitude of lost souls" or paying homage to the giants of art history, Calardo invites the viewer to step out of time and into a world of magic, logic, and profound beauty.

To explore these works further and experience the oneiric visions of Erica Calardo, visit the 33 Contemporary viewing room on Artsy.

"When I’m painting I feel connected to my deepest nature. There is only me, my easel, my visions. The colours, the soft brushes, the scent of walnut oil." — Erica Calardo

Erica Calardo

Exploring the "ICONIC" Exhibition: 10 Contemporary Artists You Need to Know

The contemporary art scene is constantly evolving, yet it frequently looks back to re-examine and redefine what it means to be truly iconic. The group exhibition "ICONIC", presented by 33 Contemporary at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art in Wisconsin (running from March 5 to June 13, 2026), does exactly this. This compelling show brings together a diverse array of artists who explore the concept of the "icon" through various mediums, styles, and subjects.

From reimagined historical figures and pop culture mainstays to the quiet power of the everyday individual, the artworks in this exhibition challenge our perceptions of legacy and significance. Below, we highlight 10 remarkable artists featured in the "ICONIC" show whose works demand your attention.

1. John Hyland

John Hyland brings a unique perspective to contemporary figurative realism, drawing on his extensive background as an editor and reporter for The New York Times and The Hartford Courant. His transition from journalism to fine art is evident in his narrative-driven approach to portraiture. In the "ICONIC" exhibition, Hyland presents works such as Splendor: Portrait of Natalie Wood, Mardonna, and Immortal: Portrait of Henry Cavill. By reimagining both historical and modern pop culture icons through a contemporary lens, Hyland bridges the gap between classic celebrity and modern reverence, inviting viewers to question how we construct and consume fame.

Kimberly Dow

2. Kimberly Dow

Based in North Carolina, Kimberly Dow is celebrated for her profound figurative realism, which frequently centers on the female form and its psychological depth. Her piece in the show, Mother of All Consequences, exemplifies her mastery of capturing complex emotional states. Dow’s work often explores themes of strength, identity, and the enduring archetype of Venus. Through her meticulous technique, she reclaims these classical motifs, presenting women not merely as muses, but as powerful, self-defined entities navigating the modern world.

3. Shannon Fannin

While many artists in the exhibition focus on the human figure, Austin-based artist Shannon Fannin turns her hyper-realistic lens toward the mechanical. Fannin is renowned for her large-scale, incredibly detailed paintings of vehicles, capturing the beauty of automotive and aeronautical engineering. Her contributions to the show, Officer, I Can Explain (2006 Ford GT - Heritage Edition) and Sweet Annie (Antonov An-2 Airplane), elevate classic machinery to an iconic status. Fannin’s work evokes a deep sense of nostalgia, celebrating the design and cultural impact of these mechanical marvels.

Sara Scribner

4. Sara Scribner

Sara Scribner’s art transports viewers into a realm of whimsical figurative realism laced with surrealist elements. The Colorado-based artist, who earned her BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, often depicts young women in ethereal, dreamlike settings. Her featured work, I Love You, showcases her signature style: subjects adorned in vintage clothing and surrounded by lush floral motifs. Scribner’s narrative-driven portraiture honors classical techniques while weaving enchanting, mysterious stories that captivate the imagination.

5. Pegah Samaie

Iranian-American artist Pegah Samaie uses her realistic portraiture as a powerful vehicle for social commentary. With degrees from the Laguna College of Art and Design, Samaie’s work is deeply rooted in advocacy for women's rights and resilience. Her pieces in the exhibition, Red and A Beautiful Smile, confront the harsh experiences and societal constraints faced by women. Through her psychologically charged figurative art, Samaie transforms her subjects into icons of endurance and strength, giving voice to those who are often silenced.

6. Patricia Schappler

Patricia Schappler, an award-winning painter and draftsman based in New Hampshire, blends realist and expressive traditions to create highly evocative figurative works. Her piece In The Beginning highlights her narrative-driven approach, which frequently draws inspiration from myths, fairy tales, and biblical stories. Schappler’s art is characterized by its psychological complexity and sensual use of materials. By tapping into universal stories, she creates timeless images that resonate deeply with the human experience.

7. Aki Kano

New York-based artist Aki Kano brings the delicate yet precise medium of watercolor to the forefront of representational portraiture. As the President of the American Artists Professional League, Kano is a leading voice in contemporary watercolor. Her featured work, Portrait of the Artist Shopping, demonstrates her exceptional ability to capture the unique personality and fashion sense of her subjects. Kano’s portraits are vibrant and intimate, proving that watercolor can achieve a level of detail and character often reserved for oil painting.

8. Gwen Manfrin

California native Gwen Manfrin excels in realistic figurative illustration, utilizing a masterful combination of watercolor and graphite. With a BA from UCLA and an extensive exhibition history, Manfrin’s work is deeply inspired by human emotion and chance encounters. Her piece The Dancer captures the fleeting essence of her subject with remarkable sensitivity. Manfrin’s ability to distill complex emotional resonance into her illustrations makes her subjects feel both immediate and enduringly iconic.

9. Alayne Sahar

Alayne Sahar is a contemporary Romantic Realist whose watercolor paintings offer ethereal depictions of the female figure immersed in the natural world. Her work in the show, Evolve, perfectly encapsulates her aesthetic, where the mood is consistently romantic and deeply connected to nature. Sahar frequently explores "goddess" archetypes, presenting women in harmonious, almost mystical relationships with their environments. Her delicate brushwork and evocative color palettes create a sense of timeless beauty.

10. Ivan Pazlamatchev

Bulgarian-American painter Ivan Pazlamatchev roots his work firmly in the figurative tradition, drawing heavily on Renaissance and Classical influences. Based in New York, Pazlamatchev’s paintings are known for their allegorical narratives and compositional tensions. His featured works, Kral 2 and Maybe Europa, showcase his intense focus on the human face, which he describes as a "mirror to the world." By revealing the secrets, moods, and desires of his subjects, Pazlamatchev creates psychologically profound portraits that echo the grandeur of historical masterpieces.

Exhibition Details:

•Title: ICONIC

•Dates: March 5 – June 13, 2026

•Location: Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, 309 McClellan Street, Wausau, WI

Whether you are drawn to hyper-realistic depictions of classic cars, psychologically complex portraits, or ethereal watercolor figures, the "ICONIC" exhibition offers a profound exploration of what captures our collective imagination today. Be sure to explore these artists and their incredible contributions to contemporary art.

Pippa Hale-Lynch | Submerged Figures

Pippa Hale-Lynch’s paintings use figures and portraits to capture intimate moments of solitude and grief. She is a contemporary figurative realism artist working primarily with oils. Her works incorporating figures suspended within water capture beauty in fleeting moments of solitude.

More recently she is exploring the theme of grief, stemming from her mother's tragic and untimely death when she was 20. At first glance, the playful use of the sugary jam can be mistaken for blood, a visual representation of the wounds left by the destruction of grief experienced by the sitter.

Pippa uses techniques learned over 12+ years of practice and training in traditional representational drawing and painting. She uses herself, her family, and loved ones as sitters to best reflect the intimacy of the work.

Amy Ordoveza

Amy Ordoveza is a contemporary realist artist who creates detailed, imaginative still-life paintings. She carefully crafts and arranges the delicate cut-paper plants, animals, and architectural elements that she depicts in her oil paintings. The fragility of the paper objects suggests impermanence while Ordoveza’s close observation and meticulous handling of paint hint at their significance. Her compositions evoke a sense of beauty and mystery in ordinary surroundings.

Ordoveza received her MFA from the New York Academy of Art and her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her historical influences include 17th century Dutch still life painters including Rachel Ruysch and Jan Davidsz de Heem as well as surrealists such as Kay Sage and René Magritte. Ordoveza’s work is included in the Lunar Codex and the Nova Scotia Art Bank and has been featured in publications and websites including American Art Collector, PoetsArtists, and Booooooom!

Vicki Sullivan | 2022 Year in Review

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What were some of the highlights in your art career?

My painting The Stolen Songline of Miss Roselands 2 year Old, was selected as a Finalist in the Kennedy Prize for Beauty. The Salon des Refusés is the S.H. Ervin Gallery’s ‘alternative’ selection from works entered into the annual Archibald and Wynne Prizes & was also a Semi-finalist in the Doug Moran prize for Portraiture.

My work was also included for a fourth time in an Exhibition at the MEAM Museum in Barcelona.

I was given the commission to paint the retiring Principle of Mentone Grammar School, Mal Cater and also Former Judge Alan Smith for the Riverhead Court, in New York.

Did your art sell?

I sold quite a lot of paintings, heading all over the world and was included in some great collections.

Were you published in any art magazines or periodicals?

My work  was published in International Artist magazine and American Art Collector magazine as a Third Prize winner of their competition “Favourite subjects” and had three paintings featured in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. I was also published in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age Newspaper and the Herald Sun Newspaper, all huge broadsheet newspapers.

What were some of the pitfalls?

My pitfall this year was a literal one, I fell over while plein air painting on the beach and broke my foot, so I spent time on crutches and in a moon boot but I am thankfully recovering now.

How has  social media affected your daily practice?

Social Media has been great this year with quite a few paintings finding new homes from me posting them on social Media.

What are you looking forward to in 2023?

In 2023 I am looking forward to travelling to the USA where I have been invited to film a portrait demonstration video with Streamline and I am looking forward to meeting Eric Rhodes and being interviewed by him. Then, a friend and I will be travelling to New York and Boston to visit art galleries and crawl our way around some of the best paintings in the USA.

All in all a lot has been happening this year and next year will be a fun adventure.

Vicki Sullivan’s paintings draw from a deep appreciation of beauty. Sullivan is a contemporary classical realist combining the aesthetics of the old masters with a modern edge. Finding her inspiration in people and nature Sullivan chooses oil paint as her medium. Her love of vibrant and opulent colour often requires employing many layers of paint to make her colour lavish and glowing as if from the inside. Chiaroscuro brings drama to her work, which often uses symbolism while exploring the universality of myth and emotional memories. Her work aims to stir the imagination and create an emotional connection with her viewer.

Elizabeth Barden two figurative realism paintings chosen for Astrobotic lunar landing

Key points:

• About 5,000 digitized works are being sent in various payloads to the moon.

• Barden is among a handful of Australian artists selected for the Peregrine Collection.

• The project is funded by Canada-based physicist and philanthropist Dr Samuel Peralta.

• Many of the artworks were contributed from PoetsArtists’ publications courtesy of Didi Menendez.

Far North Queensland artist Elizabeth Barden has exhibited all over the world. Now her work is heading to the Moon.

Ms Barden is one of a handful of Australian women chosen for the Artists On The Moon Project.

About 1200 artists from across the globe have been selected to contribute to two collections — the Peregrine Collection and the Nova Collection — that will make their debuts on the Moon this year.

"I just woke up to a crazy email one day that I was to be included in this collection of artists who, in effect, are representing planet Earth," Barden said.

"That is something quite unique and a bit whimsical to me … literally out of this world."

Barden's works were selected as part of the Peregrine Collection of contemporary works of figurative realism.

Continue reading at ABC News.

PoetsArtists | StoryTellers

By Didi Menendez in Peregrine Collection

38 pages, published 2/2/2020

Publication of works curated by Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt and Didi Menendez.

THE PEREGRINE COLLECTION

Viktoria Savenkova | Experience, 2018 | Oil on Canvas | 39 2/5 × 23 3/5 in | 100 × 60 cm

Yunior Hurtado Torres CIVILIZATION, 2020 | Oil on canvas | 71 × 71 in | 180.3 × 180.3 cm

Vicki Sullivan | Moon Goddess, 2019 | Oil on linen | 17 7/10 × 13 in | 45 × 33 cm

Irvin Rodriguez | Woman In Black, 2015 | Oil on linen | 40 × 30 × 1 in

News Release : On a Time Capsule to the Moon with 1200 Artists and One A.I.

TORONTO, ONTARIO (March 11, 2021) – The Peregrine Collection – an assembly of thousands of creative works by over 1200 creative artists and one A.I. – is headed for the Moon.

Coordinated by Dr. Samuel Peralta, the Artists on the Moon (AOTM) project is joining NASA’s scientific payloads on Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One, the first commercial launch in history, on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket to Lacus Mortis on the lunar surface. Dr. Peralta, a physicist and entrepreneur, is also an author, whose fiction has hit the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists, and whose poetry has won awards worldwide.

“I was fourteen on my first launch, an Antares model rocket kit by powered by an Estes solid-propellant engine the size of my thumb,” said Dr. Peralta. “Now we’re on Astrobotic’s lunar lander on a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket headed for the Moon. Wow.”

The centerpieces of Dr. Peralta’s payload are the 21 volumes of his own Future Chronicles anthologies, all Amazon bestsellers, and 15 PoetsArtists art magazines and exhibition catalogs, one of which he helmed as guest curator for publisher and art curator Didi Menendez. Each individual volume provided scores of curated contemporary art and short stories for the time capsule.

Together with other art books, anthologies, novels, music, and screenplays - including for the short film Real Artists, which won an Emmy® Award in 2019 - he and his colleagues have digitized literally thousands of art and fiction for the trip to the Moon.

Dr. Peralta noted that between AOTM and its sister project, the Writers on the Moon group coordinated by fellow author Dr. Susan Kaye Quinn, several thousand creative artists and writers are now represented for the lunar journey.

“Our hope is that future travelers who find this capsule will discover some of the richness of our world today,” Dr. Peralta said. “It speaks to the idea that, despite wars and pandemics and climate upheaval, humankind found time to dream, time to create art.”

The Peregrine Collection represents creative artists from all over the globe, including from Canada, the US, the U.K., Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and the Philippines. It includes a collaborative human-AI work of poetry between Dr. Peralta and OSUN, an OpenAI-based machine programmed by Sri Lankan author and researcher Yudhanjaya Wijeratne.

The Peregrine Collection is among the most diverse collections of contemporary cultural work assembled for launch into space, and is believed to be the first-ever project to place the work of women artists on the Moon.

The digitized artwork and literature files are contained in two microSD cards, encapsulated in DHL MoonBox capsules. Delivery is by Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander, through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

Launch is scheduled in July 2021 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the lander will touch down in the Lacus Mortis region of the Moon, marking Earth’s return, and the first mission carrying commercial payloads, to the lunar surface.

About The Peregrine Collection:

The Peregrine Collection brings together the work of 1200 creative artists, and one A.I., on a time capsule to the Moon, via Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander. Digitizing thousands of artworks, stories, and more, it leverages the Astrobotic/DHL MoonBox initiative to bring one of the most expansive cultural collections to space. A project of Incandence under its Artists on the Moon initiative, The Peregrine Collection is headed by payload coordinator and curator Dr. Samuel Peralta.

Website: peregrinecollection.com

About Samuel Peralta:

Physicist, entrepreneur, and storyteller, Samuel Peralta's fiction has hit the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists, and his poetry has won awards worldwide, including from the BBC, the UK Poetry Society, and the League of Canadian Poets.

Acclaimed for his Future Chronicles anthologies, he is an art curator, an award-winning composer, and a producer of independent films, including The Fencer, nominated for a Golden Globe®, and Real Artists, winner of an Emmy® Award.

With a Ph.D. in physics and an expansive career, Samuel serves on the board of directors of several firms, and mentors start-ups at the University of Toronto’s ICUBE accelerator.

About the Publications:

The majority of the artworks being digitized and being sent to the moon are from the publications made possible from PoetsArtists creator Didi Menendez. The publishing house is GOSS183. The designers for these are April Carter Grant and/or Didi Menendez. The publications are available to download from www.iartistas.com or buy in print from Amazon, Blurb, and Magcloud.

Covid Subway Drawings by Devon Rodriguez

Devon Rodriguez is known for his subway oil paintings of unsuspecting subjects. He is now taken to drawing live while on the subway. Here is a TikTok showing his process.

“My work is about documenting the world around me, typically on the NYC Subway. My job is not to direct reality, but to let reality direct me. I like to remain hyper aware to what’s going on around me. I try not to disturb my subject in any way. The last thing I’d do is ask someone to allow me to photograph them for a painting. I like to be patient, and just hope that the world around me will reward me with deep and soulful incidents and characters. Painting what I see helps me understand the world around me.

I often like to paint big works. To me, this makes the image feel very familiar and normal, as if you’re sitting in front of the subject in your everyday life. Sometimes my paintings are interpreted as invasive, but it doesn’t stop my admiration for people, sometimes very unusual people. ”

— Devon Rodriguez

The drawings are available to buy right from his website and they are $500 each. They are selling out so hurry.

Devon’s artwork is currently exhibiting in the Smithsonian and his Subway paintings have been featured throughout New York subways and been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times.

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GO WILD! Curated by Conor Walton

There’s no blank spots on the map anymore, anywhere on earth. If you want a blank spot on the map, you gotta leave the map behind. ― Jon Krakauer

Inside all of us is… A Wild Thing. ― Maurice Sendak

Straight after I agreed to curate this exhibition, I sat down to dinner with my children and asked if they could think of a good title for a show. The first thing my thirteen-year-old son Daniel suggested was 'GO WILD!' and I thought “Wow! That's it!” As a title and a theme, ‘GO WILD!’ provides a context tight enough to offer coherence, yet loose enough to give the artists freedom to do what they do best. You can interpret it as targeting Nature in its broadest sense, or simply as an exhortation to take a risk; to unleash one's talent, express the Dionysian aspect of our natures. Both of these themes (and many more) came through in the work I have been offered, so I am delighted: overall, I think a bit of the zeitgeist comes through in this show.

Rachel Linnemeier | Camera Click | oil on aluminum | 16x20 | 2018

In many of these paintings our relationship with Nature is obviously an underlying issue, but one which presents itself in many forms. In Rachel Linnemeier’s Camera Click it takes the form of ironical detachment. The subject of the painting stands heroically, camera in hand, apparently seeking Nature and ready to ‘capture the scene’, and yet the Nature he seeks already appears reduced, processed, flattened. The painting seems to comment upon the way so much of our experience of the world is now packaged and mechanically mediated. There is humour in this painting, but also melancholy; a sense of lost directness and authenticity in our relationships, both with that which is ‘other’ and with our inner selves.

Dana Hawk | Wildlife | oil on panel | 6 x 6 | 2018

Childhood is a recurring theme, which for many of us appears to stand for a time when we were closer to Nature, more spontaneous and whole, and wilder. Dana Hawk Heimbach’s Wildlife “is about being a kid immersed and one with nature.” Serena Potter’s Night-timers are adults escaping into an infantile world of spontaneous fun and irresponsibility. For Linda Tracey Brandon in Capture the Flag, childhood represents “that brief juncture where fantasy and innocence intersect with the wild, reckless freedom of living in the present moment.” These words are also appropriate for the child in Cynthia Sitton’s She Delighted in Them: living in her fantasy, unaware of the approaching storm behind her, it is, according to Sitton, “a love letter to my ill daughter”, and infused with a wistful sense of adult suffering and regret.

Painting by Denise Fulton

Some of the artists have used the nude as a way of articulating our animal natures. Susannah Martin's provocative image Schmetterling (‘Butterfly’) is the quintessence of Dionysiac rapture. In Tina Garret’s Baptism, a female bather evokes the pleasure of skinny-dipping; momentarily shedding inhibitions and finding peace through immersion in watery nature. In Denise Fulton’s Camouflage, the woman hides in plain sight, her form broken up by dramatic shadows. She eyes the viewer like a wild animal (though it’s not clear whether she is metaphorically prey, or predator waiting in ambush). Sarah Lacey’s exquisite drawing Cygnus finds analogies in human and animal form, in this case between human and swan. As she says:

Organic form - the way nature grows and shapes itself - is deeply playful and fractal, and shapes repeat, mirror and metamorphize across forms and species. My model’s bone structure, particularly in the shape of her collarbones, reminded me of the curve of a swan’s outstretched wings. I wanted to bring those shapes to life as a physical manifestation: her daemon, her familiar, an extension of her spirit and power. She is the swan and the swan is her. We are not separate from Nature, we are Nature.

Adam Miller | Diana and Accteon | oil and tempera on panel | 36x50 | 2018

In exploring the contested borderlands between human and animal, ‘civilised’ and ‘primitive’, several of the artists in this show have rediscovered the power of mythology. Adam Miller's reworking of ancient mythological themes of violence and transgression, suffering and rapture, seem intent on reconnecting us with our deepest natures. For the hunter Actaeon (whose punishment for seeing the Goddess naked is to be turned into a stag and torn apart by his hounds) insight comes at a terrible price. 

An inevitable consequence of reinvigorating of the mythopoeic imagination appears to be the rediscovery of Tragedy, all too apt for the coming age. Indeed, my wager on our dawning epoch is that (contra the superficial optimism of our ‘official’ culture) only a sublimely tragic art will do it justice. In these works, I see its first awakening.

Luke Hillestad | Medusa | oil on canvas

Like Miller, Luke Hillestad brings continuity of human and natural form in a mythological direction. His Medusa, half-animal, appears not as an object of terror but of pathos and desire: in its way it too speaks of our situation in which wild Nature appears less fearsome and monstrous than beautiful and suffering. This Medusa stands like an endangered species; the carrier of an intuitive, poetic wisdom entirely at odds with the technocratic logic of our civilisation. 

Molly Judd | Raskolnikov | 140x150 cm | 2019

Molly Judd is a young Irish artist snapping at her elders' heels with whom I seem to have an unwitting relationship of common themes. When I first saw her Raskolnikov I was so happy she hadn't called it Flogging a Dead Horse, because I am working on a painting of this title, and close enough in theme to hers (which I take to be ecocidal guilt, shame at our criminal treatment of Nature) in Molly's case raised to the level of sublime metaphor.

Martin Wittfooth | As above so below | 30 inches | 2019

I’ve long been fascinated by Martin Wittfooth's depiction of a post-apocalyptic, post-human world in which a degraded, mutant nature recovers amongst the ruins of our civilisation. Wittfooth’s imagery is striking for its anti-humanism: ostensibly the human image is banished from his art and animal nature reigns supreme. Yet the physical or metaphorical detritus of our culture is everywhere in his world and the satirical force of his work is clearly premised on our species’ collective insanity: Wittfooth’s imagination is wounded, angry and feral.

Both directly and indirectly, many of these paintings bear witness to the planetary catastrophe unfolding around us, and the need to recover a sense of human identity in which Culture isn't opposed to Nature but unfolds within it. This is, I think, what gives some of the best contemporary figurative art - naturalistic in technique but using dream, fantasy, metaphor to plumb our psychic depths - its current impetus and urgency.

All these artists combine old-master virtuoso techniques with a contemporary sensibility to produce paintings that, in sum, tackle almost every subject, from the painfully or joyfully private to the great public issues of our day: politics, ecology, the fate of our civilization and our planet. If an artist's job is to give us images through which we can better understand ourselves and the world, this is exactly what these artists are doing. I think there's a huge appetite today, particularly among the young (and in the context of an often shallow, consumerist pop culture) for an art that isn't simply brash or slick or clever, but that speaks to our deepest desires and needs: for truth and beauty, and above all, for meaning.

There are many treasures to be found in this little collection of works, for those with eyes to find them! Expect to be provoked, teased, caressed with beauty, troubled with insight. You deserve nothing less.