Jenny Pockley

You are never left in any doubt when you first glance at a Pockley painting that it represents the emotional position of the artist. In this way, it is not only the subject matter that reveals the nature of the painting but the formal language of the image. Nothing is removed from the landscape but it is reconfigured through a poetic language - her vision remains consistent and entrenched. Vast skies swamp architectural landmarks in shrouds of rich, luminous colour, where shimmering light or beautifully smooth pigment applied over a gesso ground evoke the weight of rich emotional metaphor.

In Jenny Pockley's recent solo exhibition, Taking Manhattan, held in the gallery in September 2010, the artist produced a series of major paintings of the iconic city New York. In these paintings we become aware that these pieces are not simply topographical interpretations of New York in the contemporary moment, but rather incorporate the artist's knowledge, research and understanding of art history, and in particular the large colour field artists such as Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still, to develop a totally innovative approach to a traditional genre of painting. Ultimately Pockley's work expresses a highly distinctive metaphor for a vision of the Utopian dream in the twenty-first century, as she creates mysterious urban landscapes, a place far removed from the chattering streets, the pumping exhaust fumes or the anonymous vast crowds of the city.

Historically Jenny Pockley was the first gallery artist to be selected from a final year degree show for her exquisite gesso (plaster) and oil large scale landscapes, a technique that has been developed over the past years to create rich, sensuous and luminous painted surfaces. Her success has been unrivalled, with six sell out solo shows and international exhibitions organised in Europe, America and Canada. Her recent large scale panoramic cityscapes are inspired by numerous helicopter trips in London and New York to experience the city from the sky. The artist works on commission regularly for corporate and private collectors often depicting areas of the city that hold relevance and meaning to those clients. Pockley has also been awarded a number of esteemed scholarships and awards, including the Landseer Scholarship, the Worshipful Company of Painters/Stainers Bursary, the David Murray Travel Scholarship, and the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award and was commissioned for The Lancet 175th Anniversary Supplement.