Nicholas Ashton

Nicholas Ashton at the
Anna Lovely Gallery
10-26 May 2024

MARSH RIVER SKY

Artist’s Statement

Marsh River and Sky is a response to my particular viewpoint of London.

The work focuses on the interplay between urban landscapes and the natural world, drawing inspiration from the ever‐changing scenery along the river Thames and the panoramic views and big skies over the city from my garden.

Exploring post‐industrial sites like Cliffe, where remnants of human activity coexist with nature’s resurgence and depicting the large open skies over London viewed from Forest Hill.

I often explore the landscape on foot, attempting to discover hidden and liminal spaces. I make drawings and photographs on site and work up the final pieces in the studio from memory, sketches and photographs.

Silhouette‐like forms of rotting timbers and riverside wrecks serve as dramatic compositional elements, inviting viewers to contemplate the hidden stories and histories behind these decaying relics whereas the paintings of wide, open skies over London bear witness the beauty and light contained in the landscape.

Nicholas Ashton’s website