Sublime Space places William Heath Robinson alongside nine contemporary artists, David Inshaw, Ray Richardson, Jemma Powell, Jonathan McCree, Sue Arrowsmith, Daniel Sturgis, Peter Coyte, Ralph Steadman, and Barnaby Barford to explore our relationship with nature and landscape as a space for creative reflection. Whether physically walking in, observing, or imagining the landscape, ideas of the sublime continue to inspire.
In his autobiography My Line of Life, Heath Robinson recalls his many extensive, contemplative walks, (often solo, or in a group affectionately known as the Froth Finders), using the openness and expanse of landscape to unfetter his thoughts, and provoke inspiration for his drawings and paintings. He wrote, “I had a love for the life of landscape painter….to live in the open and commune with nature”, this passion prevailed throughout his career, even though his landscape art is rarely seen. In the context of this exhibition, however, we can see this dialogue between art, nature, and space remains central, and critical to artists today, not only as aesthetic experiences, but also as a creative aperture offering freedom to explore wider emotional, intellectual, and socio-political concerns despite our increasingly saturated digital age.
At a time when 93% of UK land is privately owned, the remaining 7% of shared spaces take on even greater significance as they shape how we encounter the natural world. The artists in Sublime Space investigate these themes through diverse mediums and perspectives, through real landscapes, urban terrains, imagined spaces and sound.
Heath Robinson’s paintings offer contemplative views as though the viewer is a bystander observing a scene from the side-line. In contrast, Ray Richardson’s work explores cinematic glimpses of life, hinting at stories beyond the frame. Jonathan McCree creates large organic sculptures inspired by nature and architectural forms, encouraging viewers to move around and through the space they frame. Jemma Powell’s abstract paintings emotionally echo the colours and rhythms of the natural world, while David Inshaw’s paintings blend magical, dreamlike realism, with idyllic rural scenes. Meanwhile, Sue Arrowsmith, Daniel Sturgis and Barnaby Barford explore abstracted natural forms — leaves, branches, and boulders — reimagined for a modern sensibility tinged with romanticism. Similarly, Peter Coyte’s soundscape recordings along the Thames estuary at locations where Turner paused to paint, subsequently digitally manipulated and enhanced, evoke a nostalgic journey through digital space and time.
By juxtaposing these artists Sublime Space invites us to consider how ideas of nature, space, and the sublime continue to evolve — and how art helps us connect to the world around us in both timeless and timely ways.
The banner image is Ray Richardson ‘Be No Rain’ 2022.
