Daytime Dreaming

"ARC Padstow is delighted to present the second in their ARC Salon Exhibition Series, ‘Daytime Dreaming’ bringing together the work of four notable contemporary artists, Suzanne Clements, Alfie Rouy, Bethany Hadfield and Harriet Gillett. Each artist explores themes of dreaming, alternative ways of thinking and utopian futures through their distinct painterly languages. Spanning the entire downstairs of ARC Padstow, the works on show invite the viewer to imagine an existence beyond their lived reality, whether through fantastical vistas or depictions of fictitious creatures in alternate worlds. In Harriet Gillett’s immersive paintings, abstract cloud-like forms sweep across the canvas and inspire meditative contemplation. Her work seems to whisper to the viewer, telling tales of half-forgotten memories recalled with rose-tinted nostalgia. Alfie Rouy’s practice, meanwhile, is a lofty attempt to materialise the fluid energies, frequencies and vibrations that flow between humans, animals and the earth. His spiritual and personal process often begins with automatic drawing, allowing ideas to bubble to the surface from deep within. For Bethany Hadfield, deep ecology and the potential freedom technology may offer are central concerns. She is interested in the minutiae of the creatures that surround us, considering ideas such as how plants communicate with one another, or what their experience of time might be. Lastly, in the work of Suzanne Clements, atypical moments of endurance and resilience in the face of life’s precarity are considered. She often pictures characters, particularly women, in extraordinary situations where the fragility of human existence is put to the test."