Chris Eastham: Northern Soul at Left Bank Leeds

Leeds’ favourite creative hub Left Bank Leeds dives into the Northern soul with a new exhibition of paintings by Chris Eastham. 

Eastham is a contemporary figurative artist who works mainly in oil paint, as well as printmaking using monotype, and digital drawing. Based in Leeds, she was a contestant in Sky Television Portrait Artist of the Year 2020 as well as Landscape Artist of the Year 2019. Her paintings are rooted in traditional draughtsmanship and enhanced by bold colour choices that communicate the energy of her sitters.

After spending years teaching art in high school, in 2017 Eastham joined Patrick Studios as a resident and has dedicated herself to art-making full time.

Northern Soul is a solo exhibition that gathers Eastham’s recent body of work. Here, she explores her own Northern identity, looks into the local archives, and examines what it means for the people living in the region. As well as traditional portraits, you’ll find pieces directly inspired by archival photographs of Yorkshire’s people and places, in muted colours with a distinctly vintage feel.

There are compositions featuring Norman Hartnell models, students from the Leeds College of Art captured in 1943 and traders in the Corn Exchange in the 1930s – all of which the artist feels a strong personal connection to. Her hope is that Northern Soul inspires viewers to reflect on their own local identity and relationship to the North.

As part of the exhibition, the artist is offering portrait workshops to accompany the exhibitions’ theme of ‘Identity’- these include painting, printmaking and Procreate for iPad. Take a look at the exhibition website for more information and to book workshop tickets.