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July 5, 2015

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An exhibition of lights and shadows

OIL paintings by British artist Sarah Butterfield that showcase the interplay between lights and shadows are currently on display in Shanghai, capturing iridescent sky views in different periods of time.

Among the works are a series titled “Ocean, Lights and Palms,” which presents the artist’s new focus on the transition from sunset to night.

Despite landscape and human figures, which are commonly seen in Butterfield’s works, it unusually includes cars. These works, which will later be exhibited in Beijing by China Academy of Art, are among more than 30 of her paintings exhibited in town in a solo show titled “Light and Life,” organized by Shanghai Daily’s Art Vision project.

The exhibition runs through August 1 at The Gallery, Grand Tower in Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai.

The painting “Event Horizon/Cosmos XVII” depicts the sky at dusk, when the sun struggles to set while the stars are already twinkling in the east sky.

David Willetts, Butterfield’s husband, said the artist was “so overwhelmed” by the view that she immediately went back to her room to get her brush and palette. The artist described her painting as “in an orderly fashion amid chaos.”

Another highlight is three of her 11 paintings of the night view of the Bund. The “Shanghai Evening Sky” series was inspired by pictures of the Bund in the night that her colleagues gave her. Though Butterfield had not seen the Shanghai landmark before creating the series, she manages to capture the vitality and glamor of the area.

All the other eight works have been sold out.

An architect initially by profession, Butterfield picked up the paint brush when she ran out of job. She went to the Ruskin School of Fine Art in Oxford in 1975, where she learnt to paint with complimentary colors.

Monet is clearly a huge influence on Butterfield, especially his working methods “to create a moment in time.” Like Monet, Butterfield sets alarms ­— 8am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 6pm — to work on different paintings, and stays only 90 minutes maximum on each canvass.

Her works have been picked up by the Royal Academy of Art, Trinity College of Cambridge, Queen Elizabeth, the Prince of Wales, and British celebrities such as film director Richard Kurtis.




 

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