HUGO JONES

After the huge success of Hugo’s first solo show last year, this summer we welcome him back for a stunning new collection during the popular week of The Falmouth Sea Shanty.

Last year we opened Hugo’s first solo exhibition, a collection of considered landscapes in varying lights and different locations. The collection was met with immediate praise and a new group of satiated collectors were born. Since then, every painting we have received has been more refined than the last. This series is no exception. Each landscape embodies its own story, with Hugo’s usual focus on movement and time. Sweeping clouds with adjoined shadows trailing below and grasses blowing wildly in the wind, whilst shards of light are cast onto a single field or patch of swirling sea. These exquisite moments are fleeting, and Hugo’s paintings encourage you to enjoy them before the light changes or the patterned sky morphs into something new. Hugo has a profound and poetic appreciation for the Cornish landscape and these paintings are an ode to the reverent admiration they inspire.

A development within the series is the exploration of darker landscapes. There is an enigmatic allure to the nocturnal scenes with hazes of soft pink light enveloping the moody skies, leaving you to ponder the blackened scene below. In contrast there are a few landscapes that consist of predominantly pale and muted tones. Encapsulating the midday heat as the sun emanates scorching rays of light that bleach the resplendent earth beneath. Hugo usually maps his compositions in burnt sienna before applying the paint above, this often creates a glow and instant warmth to each of the paintings. However, in the nightscapes it evokes the lingering heat of the summer sun that permeates the soil beneath us, long after the departure of daylight.

Hugo’s painting style masterfully conveys the impression of meticulous definition, every blade of grass appears to have been considered. No stone is left unturned, every natural element is contemplated and given a varied approach to applying paint. Texture is created solely through colour and mark making rather than a high volume of paint. Hugo’s dedication to his craft is palpable once again. Time converges with the interplay of light and the tangible and intangible elements merge. A story of time emerges through the evocative lens of the Cornish landscape as Hugo’s captivating style leads you across the canvas.

Words by Sophie Castle