Bold swoops of colour and dynamic, immersive canvases

Get lost in the dazzlingly rich colours of two exciting new artists. Recent University of Brighton graduates Emily Maguire and Alexander Ardisson create beguiling works with strong, evocative atmospheres.

Emily Maguire

Emily Maguire's paintings are voluptuous, vibrant, gestural canvases in a wild array of colour, texture and movement.

Used as 'grounding components', the motif of flowers are a constant in her work, articulating a deep connection to nature, a representation of femininity and a link to the safe nostalgia of childhood, the comfort of memory and feelings of continuity.

Ceramic Fountain by Emily Maguire

120 x 150 cm | 47 x 59 in

The floral imagery also acts as a means of articulating the unsayable, vivid emotions involved in the process of coming into womanhood, a blossoming, flourishing rush. Forceful, swirling brush strokes and lush fleshy tones recall the works of Georgia O'Keefe.

The Container by Emly Maguire

21 x 30 cm | 8 x 11 in

Shapes present themselves, forms appear, before they are subsumed back into abstraction, where we see oranges, the small, tight bud of a white rose, vague shapes that could be faces. These are emotional, expressive works that embody the keen yearning of young womanhood and the big emotions engendered by memory.

Returning in Dreams by Emily Maguire

120 x 180 cm | 47 x 70 in

Morning’s Coming Light by Emily Maguire

21 x 30 cm | 8 x 11 in

Sangria by Emily Martin

21 x 30 cm | 8 x 11 in

Alexander Ardisson

Alexander Ardisson's large-scale canvases don't form coherent images so much as coherent feelings. These collage assemblages function as visual diaries, comprised of fleeting moments from the present or deep recollections from childhood, their scale lending them an immersive quality that surrounds the viewer, pulling them into the world of the canvas.

Mac Mcclung by Alexander Ardisson

147 x 140 cm | 57 x 55 in

Drawing resolutely from the everyday, Alexander's work catalogues, investigates and celebrates the banal and joyful moments that life is comprised of.

Space Joe Falchetto by Alexander Ardisson

150 x 150 cm | 59 x 59 in

In a panoply of colours, shapes, textures and strokes, Alexander's process employs a range of techniques, from quick iPad drawings to the meticulous, patient process of hand sewing his arrangements, creating a tension between the flash of intuition and the labour of assemblage.

Microwave Mayo by Alexander Ardisson