Mary Webb @ Hales Gallery

Reverie, is a solo exhibition of work by Mary Webb.  The exhibition features a series of paintings, prints and collages spanning two decades (1980 – 1999), united by the artist’s formal exploration of abstraction and complex interplays of colour.
In the works exhibited, a myriad of influences and emotions seep into the compositions and colour selections. For example, Brancaster I (1991) displays a different movement and energy compared to earlier works, evoking joy and a sense of freedom after Webb’s resignation from her teaching position of 24 years – the sense of release is palpable in the tumbling blocks of saturated colour. In contrast, the introduction of the black line in her work came after a trip to the Leger Museum in Biot, France. Fernand Leger’s use of black outlines inspired her to encase coloured blocks with black in order to see how it challenged the relationship between hues. Brignoles (1980), named after a French village she travelled to on the way back from the Leger museum, is an early example of this black demarcation, which was to become a significant element in her practice.