Kathryn Maple: Under a Hot Sun at the Walker Art Gallery

If you regularly keep track of the annual John Moores Painting Prize, you might be very excited to hear that the 2020 winner Kathryn Maple will be showing her newest work in the brand new show Under a Hot Sun at the Walker Art Gallery in 2023.

Having won the 2020 edition of the prize with the piece The Common, which is now part of the gallery’s permanent collection, Under a Hot Sun will be Maple’s first solo show and will be led by the overarching theme of extreme environmental changes.

Thanks to the Painting Prize, the Walker is the perfect venue to see high-quality painting throughout the year, yet Under a Hot Sun is an absolute highlight in Liverpool’s art calendar.

The artist’s recognisable style is based on mark-making and innovative ways of creating planes of colour with small marks. Figures melt into their surroundings and landscapes become awash with glimmering tones ranging from bright fresh greens to muted browns.

In the artist’s own words: “I draw from life as much as possible. In the studio, I reimagine and collage my drawings assembling a new relationship to spaces I visit. I am keen to keep the line searching and always expanding my vocabulary of mark making.(…) Many of the paintings on display are inhabited by figures that synchronise with nature’s deep rhythms.”

Indeed, the figures in Maple’s paintings blend in with their surroundings, whether the marks used to paint them echo or contrast those of the background. In fact, there is little distinction between foreground and background as the marks sizzle and dance around the entire surface. The painterly qualities of her work seem to always come second to the drawing – mark-making is the primary motif and motivation of the work.

Under a Hot Sun actually coincides with a call for entries for this year’s edition of the John Moores Painting Prize and artists can submit works from 13 February to 24 March. Check the Walker’s website for more information.