Freya Horsley British, b. 1979

Works
Overview

'I work from memories, notes and drawings which I do on site, but the separation involved in making the paintings back in the studio is equally important to allow me to approach the work freely, as a painting rather than as a detailed record. They are not portraits of particular places, more an attempt to distil a memory of a space, with its light, weather and sounds, thus leaving them open to other interpretations and perceptions. Memories of the crashing of the sea into the rocks, the dissolving of the evening light into the cliffs, the brilliance of the sun flooding the beach will all find place in the making of the work, although often without specific allusion.

 

'Whilst based on my experiences of the Cornish land and seascape, the paintings are naturally also part of my life in the north of England and of my ongoing exploration of using paint in many ways to evoke light and space which continues regardless of geographic location. Perceptions of a place are informed by layer upon layer of different impressions and memories; when I paint I hope to reflect this, using layers of thinned paint (both oil and water-based) and allowing it, to some extent, to dictate how the painting evolves and how the space emerges.'

 

Freya Horsley was born in Bath in 1979 and studied at University of Central England (BA Hons Fine Art – First Class Honours, 1998–2001) and University of York (MA History of Art – Distinction and Dissertation Prize, 2002–03).

 

Freya’s work has been exhibited throughout the north of England since 2003. In 2001, she was awarded the Young Artist Award at the Bath Society of Artists’ Summer Exhibition. In 2007, she was the winner of an art scholarship, with a solo show at Royal Bath and West Show. A keen climber and hill-walker, Freya painted a series of dramatic canvases about her 2007 trek in Nepal and to Everest Base Camp, which was exhibited at the 2008
Kendal Mountain Festival.

Freya lives in York and has been represented by Porthminster Gallery exclusively in Cornwall since 2007.

Exhibitions