Back To The Sky is an exceptional exhibition by Daisy Parris, a body of work made in their Somerset studio between 2022 and 2024.
The use of light in the paintings in this exhibition is unparalleled in Parris’ practice to date. There is an extraordinary luminosity that beams through dense, murky layers of oil, with paintings seeming to be lit from within. Be it inspiration drawn from tempestuous landscapes and skies or be it a depiction of hope - this is the work of a painter who has magic in their veins. References to the moon and the sky are coupled with raw, unsettling imagery of erosion and decay. Parris scratches and carves into the paint, unearthing tender gestures that sit beneath heavy downpours and gestural clouds.
There is poetry, insightful and imaginative as ever, scrawled onto scraps of canvas in Parris’ hand, stuck to the canvas with heavy globules of paint or crudely stitched together to form a patchwork of sorts - a cathartic exploration that extends beyond the realms of painting alone. Text abounds in this exhibition and is testament to Parris’ conviction as a painter. They write as they paint, offering us bravery and compassion in equal measure. Their mark making is constant, a vernacular that flows freely between abstraction, text, collage and stitching. Parris is forever moving forward, and this exhibition is no exception in investigating the depths of our human condition. Primal and intoxicating, these paintings grab us, hearts beating. Parris unravels us, mark by mark, word by word, and then stitches us together in a journey that takes us back to the start, back to the sky.
Back to the Dream
Back to the Sky
Back to the Scream
Back to the Flies
We hope you will join us to celebrate this remarkable exhibition.
