A Drewish Blog: Discovery Series

Rook & Raven is proud to present 'Discovery', a group exhibition of original paintings featuring four burgeoning talents from Canada and the US, all showing together here in their first major exhibition in the UK.

With undeniable synergy, each artist has skilfully mastered the art of figurative realism, and each deploys a distinct boldly recognisable style, yet similarly, all explore notions of lost innocence and self-discovery within their work.

Adam Caldwell creates Dali-esque urban landscapes juxtaposing classical and contemporary figuration with text and architecture. In contrast Nathan DeYoung's sensitive-yet-sensual portraits are interwoven and bound together with swathes of abstract allusion. Elizabeth Winnel's seductive photorealistic mouth paintings are both mesmerising and emotively explicit. Layered with collage and playful innuendo Andrew Young's painterly works deal with lost innocence and display notions of vulnerable simplicity. In spite of their distinct styles all four artists exude artistic maturity in equal measure.

Discovery is about new encounters, and as the subtext suggests, is as much about exposing the work of artists already forging great reputations in North America, as it is of uncovering the context of the artwork itself.