Lucy Culliton

Unnamed hen 2016 oil on board 40 x 40 cm Life and art are intrinsically entwined in Lucy Culliton’s paintings. The subject matter emerging from her canvases are imbedded in and informed by her everyday life. An avid gardener, her own plants, garden and surrounding landscape are frequently featured, as too are the many animals that inhabit and share her home, studio and land, or the unique objects that surround her. Rendered in broad and loaded brushstrokes in an impressionistic style, there is a sense that these works are not purely aesthetic mediations of what she sees, but rather a painterly translation of deep and real relationships between her and her subjects. In the works of gardens or landscapes, you feel as if Culliton has not only observed and painted them, but that she has spent time there, walked the pathways, experienced the colours and texture: gravel crunching underfoot; the desert heat; the prick of a cactus spike. Likewise, in her portraits of her animals you can see the mutual affection and love in the sheer depth and variance in the personalities and expressions captured. ‘Madeline’ is a very laid- back goat, relaxed and amused in having her portrait painted. ‘Unnamed Hen’ seems somewhat put out that she has not been formally identified and so projects a sense of pride and slight crankiness. ‘Tristan Honey’ looks like she may have eaten too much for lunch, sleep and gravity have begun to weigh on her and in any moment, she will succumb. This collection of paintings displayed at New England Regional Art Museum invite you to be drawn into Culliton’s experiences and interactions. In viewing her work we are invited to share her appreciation and joy in the world that she inhabits, a world that is personal and unique, while being familiar and delightfully commonplace. Rachael Parsons Manager Curatorial & Exhibitions New England Regional Art Museum 7 Lucy Culliton: Caution wet paint