brian sinfield gallery

James Kerr

From the artist:  “For me, painting will always be an ongoing journey rather than a final destination. Over the past year, it has begun to shift away from a more traditional approach towards a more personal visual language. The paintings are less concerned with the picturesque and more focused on something direct and essential. Much of the recent work involves a deliberate reduction – simplifying forms and structure in order to achieve a stronger sense of presence and energy.

Colour and structure have become increasingly central. The compositions are moving towards a more geometric framework. I am also beginning to experiment with methods such as collage, incorporating materials like jute scrim, wood ash, and plaster to build surface tension and tactile depth.

I rarely work en plein air; instead, I sketch especially when abroad and gather material from other sources, such as books and the internet in order to develop my ideas, and work on them later in the studio. Inspiration often comes as much from sensation and memory as from observation – more a response than a record.” James Kerr

We are delighted to present to you ‘Direction of Travel’. A solo exhibition featuring approximately thirty new paintings by James Kerr.

James Kerr began his artistic career as a decorative painter, working alongside many of London’s leading interior designers. This early experience gave him a deep and intuitive understanding of colour, paint, and form, foundations that now underpin his practice as an easel painter.

Today, Kerr devotes himself fully to painting, creating bold and vibrant still lifes and landscapes. His work openly acknowledges the influence of 20th-century modernism, particularly the British abstractionists William Scott and Paul Feiler. More recently, he has been inspired by the poetic intensity of the Russian-French painter Nicolas de Staël, an influence that is increasingly evident in his latest work.

Kerr typically begins with simplified drawings, reducing his subject to essential shapes and blocks of colour. From this starting point, each painting evolves on a journey toward abstraction. Through the use of vivid colour, expressive mark-making, and the physical processes of scraping back and reworking with both knife and brush, the surface is continually transformed. This iterative process continues until the painting reaches its final resolution.

As the British illustrator and commentator Ralph Steadman observed: “The paint itself is also an object, it is subject to its own motivation, rules and dynamic which the artist must overcome, ignore or amplify.”

Kerr has held several successful joint and solo exhibitions, with his work collected both in the UK and internationally. This exhibition marks his first solo show with the gallery.

The exhibition will open on Saturday 9th May and we look forward to seeing you.

To view all available paintings please click here

Richard Adams

‘Of All The Places’ opens on Saturday 6th June. Join us for a glass of champagne and meet the artist who will be present between 11am and 3pm.

These new dreamlike paintings by Richard Adams transform everyday rural scenes into poetic visual narratives, less about realism and more about atmosphere, nostalgia, humour and emotional warmth.

Combining finely detailed observation with whimsical storytelling, he creates scenes that feel both timeless and gently surreal.

His landscapes present cottage gardens overflowing with flowers, grasses, and sculpted shrubs set against Cotswold stone houses and rolling countryside. The atmosphere is peaceful and romantic, celebrating the richness of nature.

Then he shifts to his ‘playful’ scenes often depicting quirky human activity; on the river, in the woods, at a train station and even in the bedroom! There is always something new to see. Here he captures a sense of summer leisure and eccentric village life.

To view the full exhibition please click here.

The exhibition will continue until the end of June.

Just In - Lee Madgwick

The artist explains: “I hope to achieve a sense of drama in my work. Presenting a familiar image yet placing it in an intimate and moody setting. A narrative is very important – but intentionally never fully explained. I like to leave it for the viewer to come up with their own interpretation.”

Lee paints on canvas in oils and acrylics. A play of light is used to generate an abundance of seemingly inexplicable moods to contrast with a brooding sky. Lee has exhibited in Norfolk, Cambridge, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Amsterdam, Milan, Stockholm, Singapore and New York.  He is a member of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA), and in 2015 was asked by Banksy to showcase his work alongside internationally acclaimed artists at a large temporary art project called Dismaland.  In  2018 his drawing ‘Shroud’ was selected for the Derwent Art Prize and in 2019 he was commissioned to paint a piece to feature as the cover art on the Kaiser Chiefs album ‘Duck’.

Lee was born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk in 1980 and later graduated in Graphic Design from Norwich University College of the Arts, 2003.

To view new work by Lee please click here