PRIMAVERA

An exhibition of recent paintings and works on paper in The Angle Gallery

Cloud factory; conversations with dreams. Oil on board, diameter 37cm, January 2025

The exhibition is open now and will run until 28th June 2025. Open Thursday - Saturday 10-4pm. (excluding Friday 23rd through to Friday 30th, reopen Saturday 31st May)

The Angle Gallery (26 St. John’s Street, Bury Saint Edmunds IP33 1SN)

@theanglegallery @theburyframingcentre @martina___siskova

Last week to catch the show - final day Saturday 28th June

Primavera is a show bringing together paintings that have been made between late 2023 and May 2025, accompanied by a few recent watercolours on paper.

The Tondo paintings have in common the subject matter; flowers and the circular shape of wooden support. Within that framework each has its own story to tell; it’s own emotion and a reason for being. As well as its own language, to an extent; it often feels as if every painting demands a new way of looking and handling the paint.

I work primarily with oils and pigments mixed with oils. Each piece starts out as a pencil drawing; to me that is the blueprint, the skeleton of what is to come. There is a moment when I almost completely erase the drawing, which is actually quite difficult; a ghost of it always stays in the tooth of the gesso surface; and it feels like the image has slipped into the painting’s subconsciousness. It has been an important milestone, but one that has to be overcome, if I am to make a painting that is true to paint and the evolution of my relationship with the subject matter; with the flower that is in front of me.

The most straightforward reason why I paint flowers is that they are beautiful. Unapologetically themselves; at times vulnerable and soft, at others wild and alien-like. But most of all they are life-affirming, like when spring has just began, the ground is still bare but first green shoots are emerging; first tender leaves unfurling and everything is imbued with potential. It would be hard to put a finger on why exactly; it could be a change of wind; the colour of sun; but spring has started.

That is the essence I want to capture; when the flowers have just opened; full of life; perfect; a moment of out of time existence. Considering the full circle of growth, it is a fleeting stage; and I think that the sense of potential can be found in any part of it. But in visual terms, capturing this moment of a new blossom is how I can convey it the best.

The organic shapes and dynamics between them remind me of inner psychological and emotional states; the harmonies; tensions, contrasts; synchronicities. I see them as reflections of inner worlds as much as things of tangible reality. x

Primavera – Workshops

Tickets available here

Past - 22nd June - Motif, Soul & Emotion

Inspiration; in-breath; the movement and call of the soul will be the main theme for this session. Looking at different approaches we’ll focus on what it is that wants to be communicated; rather than how. More info on the workshop & book here

Past - 8th June - Space; Colour & Depth

We’ll look at how traditional perspective doesn’t always work; and how that can shift the way we see space and relate to the world. We’ll also look at colours; their meaning and their chromatic value; using raw pigments to create watercolour or acrylic paint for your piece.

Past - 15th June - Drawing, Form & Expression

Using drawing as the backbone of your piece; we’ll use it as a guide to explore forms; shapes and harmony. Drawing as an abstract map; expression of our inner understanding of the world.

Kids’ session

Past - 1st June - Circles & Emotions 10:30-12:00

£10 per session, materials included. For kids aged 3 and older, the session will run in Joy Connection on Angel Hill

For any enquiries place contact mtoreka@gmail.com or DM on Instagram.

Hope to see you there !
x