LONDON.- From 5 to 10 September 2022, Ordovas presents the first solo exhibition of work by Catherine Repko, winner of The Valerie Beston Artists’ Trust Award, 2021. At winter’s twilight, in summer dusk is inspired by the artist’s relationships with her three sisters, and presents paintings, pastels and etchings which explore the nostalgia of reflecting on, or reimagining, the past.

The Valerie Beston Artists’ Trust was established in 2006 after the death of Valerie Beston, who was renowned for supporting and nurturing the careers of many of the leading artists working in London throughout her extraordinary fifty-year career. The charity was established to support artists at the beginning of their careers; it has since collaborated with the Royal College of Art to award an annual prize to a postgraduate student selected from its degree show. The prize comprises a studio for a year at SPACE, a financial contribution towards materials, tutorial support generously provided by the RCA, and a solo exhibition at the end of the year.

The third of four sisters, Catherine Repko’s current practice explores sororal relationships in both literal and figurative ways. Her quietly intimate and poignant works contemplate sisterhood on a greater scale, exploring what it means to be not just a sister, but a mother, a daughter, a friend: ‘I’m interested in the space between us, our relationship growing up together and what connects us now as adults; how we support each other and what these female relationships mean to me as a woman now - both specifically with these three women, but also thinking about our relationships more broadly. Though a sisterhood is the root of my current work, I am thinking also about being daughters, about motherhood, our humanity – at a time that feels so increasingly polarised, in my work I’m bringing togetherness to the forefront.’ The intertwined figures in Repko’s works gently engage with each other in ways that feel both specific and universal: a gentle whisper, a reassuring caress, a clasping of hands.

Catherine Repko (b.1990, United States) is a painter currently based in London, UK. She completed a Foundation in Art and Design at Chelsea College of Art, London in 2010 before obtaining a BA in Illustration from the University of Brighton in 2013 and an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art in 2021. In addition to The Valerie Beston Artists’ Trust Award, 2021, Repko was the recipient of The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant in 2020 and a Triangle Network Fellowship supported by The Arts Council England in 2016. Recent exhibitions include Sister’s Whispers, PaintersPaintingPaintings (2022), Cacotopia 06, Annka Kultys Gallery, London (2022), Untitled Art Fair Miami, Huxley-Parlour Gallery, USA (2021), London Grads Now, Saatchi Gallery, London (2021), RCA Graduate Show, Cromwell Place, London (2021), Between the Acts, Wilder Gallery, London (2021), Final Not Over Again, Unit1 Gallery Workshop, London (2021), Held, Blue Shop Cottage, London (2021) and NOW, Huxley-Parlour Gallery, London (2021). Catherine has an upcoming solo exhibition at Huxley-Parlour Gallery in London opening this October 2022.