The Naked Eye Gallery are pleased to be hosting an exhibition by renowned Brighton based Still Life artist Chris Kettle.

Inspired by the light within the darkness of Dutch Masters such as Van Huysum and Jan Davidsz de Heem, Chris fuses the age old genre of Still Life with a contemporary art approach to bring to us the emotive, powerful pieces in a style he has become well known for. In this exhibition, Chris presents to us his brand new body of work which progresses from his outstanding ‘Festoon’ series. He hopes that viewers will enjoy the quiet energy of each piece.

Finding inspiration in the blank canvas, Chris has started experimenting with painting on raw linen for the upcoming show which has a natural grey/brown colour that shows through the painting in places, giving it a more textured finish than his previous work. In Chris’ words: ‘the blank canvas is inspiring every time I’m faced with it – it fills me with both excitement and horror in equal measures every time… but when you conquer it, magic happens’.

For Chris, choosing to paint a perceived ‘unfashionable’ genre like Still Life was the ultimate rebellion. Through this exploration, he has forged himself a little corner of the genre that continues to challenge him every day, which in turn invites the viewer to adapt their preconceptions of traditional Still Life paintings.

Chris’ background is in Fine Art, having studied a Degree course in Cardiff, he has shown his original pieces and limited edition prints both nationally and internationally. His ‘Terrarium’ painting was one of the top three overall award winners of the National Open Competition in 2011. His painting ‘Hubris’ was also chosen for the accompanying NOAC exhibition.

The stilleven exhibition runs between 1st-28th September at the Naked Eye Gallery, 70 Western Road, Hove, BN3 2JQ