Debut Exhibition
Candie Payne: The Age Of A Flower
We are delighted to present The Age Of A Flower; the first solo exhibition by Candie Payne. This ambitious collection features artwork across a range of media including original drawings and prints, interior design and installations.
The artist’s glamourous illustrations have transcended the canvas, now applied to fabrics and wallpapers, sculpture and furniture. A supernatural melancholia is conveyed through the almost ghost-like way Payne’s subjects have been depicted, inviting the viewer into a world of dreamscapes and storytelling, all communicated through inspired design.
Payne grew up Liverpool and New York, initially pursuing a career in the visual arts though it was her musical endeavours that first brought her to prominence. She released her debut solo album I Wish I Could Have Loved You More on Deltasonic in 2007 and later collaborated with David Byrne, Paul Weller, Kevin Ayers and Mark Ronson. Her return to drawing and painting has marked a shift towards the concept of “applied arts”, projecting her intricate ethereal imagery into stunning interior design ideas and concepts.
The influence of Aubrey Beardsley resonates throughout the collection and the recurring flower motif alludes to hidden depths. Oscar Wilde said of Beardsley’s untimely death he was “but the age of a flower”, describing a talent that had bloomed yet had much more beauty left to give.
Payne: “The age of a flower is about the flow of time. A flower never stops changing, growing and developing. It fades, falls and blooms again in an everlasting cycle of renewed abundance. There is no real beginning or end… or age… just cycles of change. As time goes on, after each death the flowers are reborn and bloom stronger every time.”
The Age Of A Flower is set to be a highlight of the galleries exhibition programme and is open from Friday 18th October – Saturday 23rd November 2019.
