What's on

A father-and-daughter exhibition of work reflecting on the landscapes of the North York Moors opens at the Inspired by… gallery next month.

Reflections on Landscape, featuring paintings by Peter and Beverley Hicks, can be seen at the gallery at The Moors National Park Centre in Danby from Saturday 9 October to Monday 8 November.

Both artists express ideas, concerns and memories by allowing their paintings to reflect on a place without being beholden to its familiarities.

Peter focuses on the Esk Valley, Doctor’s Wood, and Crag Cliff Wood near Grosmont, the world of his childhood that echoes throughout his exquisite paintings. Beverley‘s work often takes a more abstracted approach to place, and pays homage to her love of the North York Moors.

Peter Hicks says that his paintings will consider the area’s different personalities: “There’s one group of pieces that I’ve done for this exhibition called Land of Iron – in the 19th century, this was very much a mining area for ironstone. It’s been beautified now, but it was an industrial centre for a very long time, and the influences of that industry can still be seen. Then there’s the moorland themes – they’re the pieces I’m better known for.”

Beverley says: “My work, its approaches, and use of media have evolved through numerous stages, phases in my life, and tend to reflect my experiences and memories. I aim for them to mirror and weave threads of my experience, to hold and intrigue the viewer; in doing so I believe they often blur the connections between figuration and abstraction.

“My intention is to recreate a specific atmosphere, predominantly through the careful juxtaposition of tactile paint application, colour and composition. I continuously juggle with these elements, adding layer upon layer, scraping and rubbing away sections to create a balance which sits right for me. This arduous process can become all-consuming, lengthy but absolutely essential. Ultimately I only feel happy with what I have produced when, as Howard Hodgkin so succinctly puts it, ‘you keep on balancing and balancing and balancing until the picture wins’.”

Gallery curator Sally Ann Smith says: “It’s wonderful how our creativity can be inspired by the landscape. In this exhibition, through reflection and connectivity to the natural environment, the artists have produced an impressive body of work. We encourage visitors to make use of the seating areas provided in the gallery, and take an extended time to appreciate each piece.”

There are informal Meet the Artists events on Sunday 9 October (2pm-4pm) and Thursday 28 October (1pm-3pm); plus tours and talks at 11.45am, 1.15pm and 2pm on Saturday 23 October (booking essential on https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tour-and-talk-beverley-and-peter-hicks-tickets-153471041015)

The Inspired by… gallery, based at The Moors National Park Centre, is open from 10am to 5pm daily in October and from 10.30am to 4pm in November.

A new permanent exhibition at The Moors National Park Centre is also about the Land of Iron. It celebrates the ironstone heritage of the area: how the iconic landscapes were formed, the connections between the plants and animals that thrive there and the dramatic story of Victorian ironstone extraction, the ingenuity of the moorland railways and the sometimes harsh realities of the people who shared in this short-lived ‘gold rush’ of the North York Moors.

For more information on the Reflections on Landscape, go to: northyorkmoors.org.uk/inspiredby
For more information on Land of Iron, go to: www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/landofiron