Show: contemporary artist Sara Pope in new show in St Leonards

Stella Dore Gallery in St Leonards presents a solo exhibition of original artwork by one of contemporary art’s most recent success stories – Sara Pope.
Stella Dore gallery in St LeonardsStella Dore gallery in St Leonards
Stella Dore gallery in St Leonards

There is a private view on Thursday January 31 from 6-9pm before the show opens from February 1-23.

Sara uses her body of work to explore perceptions of the nature of beauty in the 21st century. She incorporates factors such as the recent transformation of imagery through the use of Photoshop and photo editing, the effect being to alter our expectations of reality, as well as the obsession with youth and celebrity. Other more innate factors such as our attraction to glossy, reflective surfaces are also explored. The mouth, as well as being a focus for beauty and attraction, is also of course integral to communication.

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All Sara’s paintings begin in a photographic studio with a live model. She sets up all aspects of the photo shoot, then asks her model to pout and pose whilst exploring a range of different emotions. The artist then uses the resulting images as her inspiration.

Pope’s painting process involves many layers of thin, oil-diluted paint – smoothing, blending and augmenting until she achieves her desired effect. In Pope’s paintings the lips and mouth are featured alone, floating out of context from the rest of the face and become something more.

Stella Dore is a gallery started in East London in 2007 and re-established in St Leonards in September 2018 by Hastings-born Steph Warren.