30 September - 12 October 2008

10am - 5pm

seachange n. 1. a profound or notable transformation. 2. a striking change, often for the better. 3. a transformation brought about by the sea. [C17: Shakespeare's Tempest]

An enduring theme in Hilary Soper's vibrant oil paintings and spontaneous printmaking is the sea. She has rarely lived more than a stone's throw from the sea, and firmly believes that the sight, sound and smell of it is vital to her sense of 'home'. It's no surprise that most of her paintings reflect something of the sea or of her home environment, and a recent removal of the home from the edge of tidal waters to the doorstep of the sea itself is nothing less than a sea change.

"Paintings which revolve around the sea don't seek to represent the reality so much as to grasp that peculiar emotion felt for the reality. Sometimes they are an immediate response, sometimes the result of a long period of reflection where memory is important, and sometimes just the ghost of something seen."

The exhibition will include new works rooted firmly in the new home, the new surroundings and the relationship with a new sea, as well as work inspired by more far-flung adventures, such as Antarctica, which Hilary visited recently as Artist in Residence on an expedition ship.

"Paintings usually begin without any real anticipation of the subject matter or the outcome, and are largely the result of the process - the enjoyment of paint for paint's sake. This is also true of the homely images which are broadly described as still life, although they're not painted from set arrangements, but from images arranged in the mind and which grow organically on the canvas."

Hilary's oil paintings are mainly abstract, but rooted in the reality of land, sea or homely still life, and while they vary in size they all share vigorous brushwork and a dynamic and intuitive use of colour.

Hilary's working process merges seamlessly into printmaking, and particularly when working with monotypes, where she works with the same spontaneous response. She is a founder member of Press Gang, the group of printmakers based in Salcombe Art Club.

Hilary is a regular contributor to group shows at Harbour House, and held her first major solo show at the gallery in 2006, focusing largely on her inspirational trip to Antarctica. She shows widely through Artspaces, and other recent exhibitions include the London Affordable Art Fair, the Flavel Centre, Dartmouth, the Philip Malone Gallery, Topsham, and Delamore House, Cornwood. She is a member of the Plymouth Society of Artists.

www.hilarysoper.co.uk

www.artspaces.co.uk