Conversations with the Moon: Lucy Giles

In response to the works, Alice Chasey has kindly written some text for us to accompany the show:

Lucy Giles’s canvases burst with life. Colour is freely and brightly applied, and the paintings cannot help but bring a smile to the viewer’s face. Loose, abstract shapes and seemingly spontaneous brushstrokes convey a joyful scene, often inspired by nature. Lucy frequently works in her studio at night, looking out over London, the moon her companion and inspiration. There are also beaches and trees depicted here; rainbows and storms; the sun as well as moonlight. Recent works such as Land and Sea, Green Bush, Three Trees and Sandstorm show an instinctive relationship with the natural world.

These works are often playful, with tongue in cheek titles such as Fish Boob. But this does not make them insincere. There is an honesty and integrity in these compositions. Don’t be fooled by their ‘naïve’ quality. These are sophisticated paintings, made with passion, but also precision. They reflect an open, enquiring nature. They light up a room. They speak to us of connection, colour, renewal.

In a time of Covid pandemics, and global uncertainty, Lucy’s art creates a place of anchorage, of home, of simple pleasures. It is no coincidence that her work is regularly chosen by stylists and interior magazines to reflect the zeitgeist. They are of their moment, but they are also timeless. There is an intimacy here. Sit with them. Let them bring joy. Like the moon, they shine.

© Alice Chasey 2022

Alice Chasey is a writer and editor, specialising in contemporary art