THE SHAPE OF WATER, THE MEMORY OF LAND
Luba Arnold, Antonella Scarpa- Isles and Ewen Hyde
20 - 26 May 2026
Luba Arnold
Luba is a contemporary landscape artist, based in Gloucestershire, UK.
Her paintings are not intended to be literal representations of specific places, but rather an attempt to capture the essence of memory - a space imbued with its light and atmosphere - leaving room for personal interpretation and connection.
Drawing inspiration from the local landscapes she explores on long walks through the countryside, Luba finds equal inspiration in the sea. Regular visits to Cornwall have played a pivotal role in shaping many of her seascapes.
At the heart of Luba’s work is a deep focus on colour and texture. Acrylic, oils and charcoal are her chosen media, with pallet knife marks lending a tactile quality to the surface. Layer upon layer of paint adds depth, inviting the viewer to explore the rich nuances of each piece.
Her approach is blend of memory, sketches and photographs, with each stroke guided by energetic, intuitive process. The result is a work that feels spontaneous, yet deliberate -an expression of the moment captured in paint.
Antonella Scarpa- Isles
Water is an endless source of fascination for me , whether it is the sea, a lake or a river, I’m drawn to the way its surface is never still. It shifts from moment to moment, sometimes revealing its depth, sometimes reflecting the sky so completely that what lies beneath disappears. This constant movement, this duality of showing and hiding is what compels me to paint it.
In my work I try to capture the many facets of water: its luminosity, its turbulence, its quiet expanses and its sudden changes. I’m especially interested in the tension between its beauty and its danger. I feel a deep pull towards water, yet I also carry a fear of its depths and the unknown they hold.
The ambivalence, attraction and unease intertwined runs through my paintings.
Through colour, texture and shifting layers, I explore water as both a physical presence and an emotional landscape .
Each painting becomes a way of approaching something I can never fully grasp, a way of honouring the spell water casts on me while acknowledging the vulnerability it evokes.
My hope is that the viewers feel the same mixture of wonder and uncertainty, and sense the living, changing nature of the element that inspires me.
Ewen Hyde
Constantly evolving through experimentation, my work is predominantly constructed
using only salvaged materials and found objects – usually, although not exclusively,
scrap metal.
Often, the nature of the material itself provides the inspiration for the piece.
Each sculpture is then fabricated by hand, and given the random source of the
materials, this ensures each work is completely individual and unique.
While on the surface they may appear simply quirky or even humorous, there is often a
far more serious, deeper underlying message
