LONDON.- Vardaxoglou Gallery is presenting an exhibition of new paintings by Lewis Brander (b. 1995). This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in London and with Vardaxoglou. There will be an opening reception on Wednesday 13 July, 6-9pm.

Completed within the last three years, Lewis Brander’s paintings reflect the natural landscape in cities, most recently London and Athens. Brander’s paintings, deep in observation of light and cloud formations, are embodiments of memory and emotion. These observations extend over a number of years as the details of the natural world begin to reveal themselves and are then recorded through a semi-abstract visual language in his studio. Brander’s depiction of atmospheric conditions are often given context by a horizon line, hinting at subject whilst providing distance.

Always intimate in format, the presence of each painting’s subject is sensed through examination of the artist’s careful gestures. Having lived in Athens, Greece for a number of years, the intensity of light around the mountains and hills of ancient civilisations serve as a grounding for Brander’s paintings. Here, the variations of colour in natural light around Mount Lycabettus and Mount Hymettus are departure points. More recently, the artist has been in London continuing his reflections in Hyde Park and Primrose Hill.

The diaristic nature of the work is not a strict empirical recording of what the artist sees. In fact, the paintings capture ephemeral moments, like a sunset fading behind a mountain, or a clear blue sky about to become overcast. Light is studied and translated from these locations over an extended period of time, meaning a single painting can take three years from conception to execution. So, the act of looking becomes a starting point for later realisation in the studio, where observation and memory become inextricably tied.

Understanding the tradition of landscape painting, Brander’s works are as much about a reverence for the natural world and this history as they are a conduit in which to explore the places we live today.