Deborah Tarr: The Archaic Landscape

The Archaic Landscape is an exhibition of new paintings by British artist Deborah Tarr. The title of the exhibition refers to an imagined location, neither in the past nor the future. Archaic certainly implies something ancient, even classical, but in this instance Tarr uses this word to express a place or feeling that is ever present, a place of peace and serenity that we, as humans can be part of. The point of Tarr’s work is to evoke this feeling, a sense of protection and solitude, when alone with the painting or assemblage.

The exhibition is informed by her recent travels to the desert landscapes of Joshua Tree and Palm Springs in the United States and by her time spent in the West of England. In some paintings we see quite a literal and figurative depiction of landscape, in others, a more reductive approach is taken, where the composition veers more into the dreamscape. Tarr’s range is vast, varied, and personal, as we are taken on a stimulating visual odyssey and given an insight into the environments the artist inhabits.