Exhibition Modern British Painting from Cornwall to Scotland

Exhibition announcement the 20th of February - Beyond St Ives explores the broader reach of Modern British painting through five artists whose work echoes the hallmarks of the St Ives School — light, colour, and a deep sensitivity to place.

Although Simeon Stafford, Trevor Bell, Paul Feiler and Gary Ray Smith each have strong ties to Cornwall, the show expands the conversation beyond geography. Their work reflects the essence of the region: open skies, kinetic coastlines, expressive forms and an emotional honesty that defined post-war British art.

Craigie Aitchison, working from a different landscape entirely, arrived at a similar clarity. 

His paintings, known for their distilled colour planes and spiritual stillness, fit seamlessly into the same aesthetic lineage. Like Feiler, Aitchison used restraint as power; like Stafford and Smith, he understood the poetry hidden in simplicity.

By bringing these five artists together, Beyond St Ives reveals the shared visual language that travelled across the British Isles during the 20th century. Their approaches differ, yet they converge around one idea: that colour and light — handled with precision and feeling — can express something far greater than landscape alone.