The Living Mountain: Paintings by Evie Rose Thornton

Inspired by her recent residency in Florence, Italy, supported by the RSA John Kinross Scholarship, Evie Rose Thornton’s latest body of work explores the rugged beauty of the Alps and Dolomites, culminating in a series of paintings about mountains and their deep, layered significance. The six-week journey through these landscapes provided Thornton with a profound connection to the land, evoking themes from Nan Shepherd’s The Living Mountain, a poetic meditation on the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. Just as Shepherd sought the "essential nature" of the mountains, Thornton’s paintings probe the essence of both the natural world and the human spirit’s connection to it.

The landscapes of the Alps and Dolomites, with their towering peaks and hidden valleys, served as a direct inspiration for Thornton’s exploration of mountains as places of both beauty and harshness, places where the forces of nature shape not only the land but the self. The journey through these regions also brought Thornton closer to her own experience of connection and reflection, resulting in work that merges her personal engagement with the land and the influence of Shepherd’s meditative writing.

Through vibrant brushstrokes and textured compositions, Thornton’s paintings evoke the sublime nature of mountains, exploring how attentive curiosity and reflection on the natural world can enlarge both the self and the surrounding environment. This exhibition offers an intimate response to the wild, mysterious mountains, inviting viewers to join in a journey of connection and discovery.

OPENING TIMES

Opening Friday 14th March 6pm to 9pm

Saturday 15th March 11am to 4pm
Sunday 16th March 11am to 4pm

Saturday 22nd March 11am to 4pm
Sunday 23rd March 11am to 4pm

Saturday 29th March 11am to 4pm
Sunday 30th March 11am to 4pm