Needhams-Tunmer-Solo-2-500

Needhams Restaurant & Art Gallery is very pleased to present a solo exhibition of beautifully vibrant landscape paintings by this highly-regarded Cambridge-based Artist:

Jo Tunmer

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There is a tangible, almost potent sense of solitude in the landscapes painted by Cambridge Artist Jo Tunmer. Always slightly abstracted and boasting strong, bright colours, these paintings evoke the imaginary memory of a blustery summer afternoon in some remote landscape- you could, if you wish, be laying down on the sand near the grassy dunes of the North Norfolk coast, looking up at an ominous sky, wondering how long you can leave it before getting caught in an inevitable downpour.

The sky features strongly in the composition of Jo's paintings- it seems to be the subject, more often than not, ever present, always revered. The foreground of her landscapes is always connected to the earth in some way & the background always approaching from the sky above. Surprisingly, the junction between these two elements, the compositional horizon if you will, is always free of tension. The tension, instead, comes from the way Jo scratches texture into the grasses and reeds that connect each piece with the earth.

Jo has travelled extensively since becoming an artist, sketching and photographing as she goes. In fact, she lived in Southern California for several years and retains a strong connection with the area. The blue skies of Arizona, California, Illinois and Missouri in the U.S., the rich colours of Southern India and the subtle hues of Scotland have all left a lasting impression on the mark-making of this accomplished artist. Desert locations are a particular favourite of Jo's but she appreciates the shifting light and the seasonal differences found in the U.K.


Needhams Restaurant & Art Gallery
186 Main Street, Witchford, Ely, Cambs CB6 2HT

4th February to 24th March 2010

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Snow-Patch3-500