Brita Granström: Rhubarb & Rock Pools

3 - 27 May 2019

Brita Granström: Rhubarb & Rock Pools

In her new exhibition of works on canvas, Brita Granström is doing what she does best; showing us delicious interior views as well as dealing with the wild all-weather landscapes near her seaside home. Granström’s life experience in the Borders, shared with her husband, children and two lurcher pups, informs every brushstroke of her work; and as she says:

‘I love setting out across the dunes with an empty canvas under my arm, my Sami birchbark rucksack on my back and my lurcher pups Hilda and Nelly. The phrase ‘a blank canvas’ is exactly the right description as I can never be sure what painting I will bring back. I often start out with a composition in mind, a place I know that I want to paint; but on the magical North East coast anything can happen. I was painting recently and a Merlin flew into my picture startled by Hilda and Nelly once sent a flock of white sanderlings flying across one of my seascapes like confetti.’

Brita often posts photos on Hilda and Nelly’s Instagram feed, taken during her painting adventures (her lurchers have quite a following on Instagram). In fact ‘painting adventures’ is a good way to describe her new exhibition: from the large paean to childhood Hunting for Crabs to jewel-like interiors and breath-taking seaside views, there is always a visual treat in store in Granström’s paintings that affirms the art critic William Varley’s description of her work, ’this language beyond words… an art of healing’.

Brita Granström graduated in 1994 from Konstfack in Stockholm. She has lived and worked in the UK since 1994 as both artist and illustrator. Her work is in the Borchard Collection and she has frequently appeared on both TV and radio. This will be Granström’s third biennial solo exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery.