THE SHORTEST DAY

LIGHT-FILLED PAINTINGS FOR LONG NIGHTS
An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Kate Hughes

18-24 December 2023 11AM-5PM
Roche Gallery, 93 High Street, Rye

In her first gallery exhibition in Rye, Kate Hughes invites you to enjoy her whimsical and inquisitive take on the world. In the series of paintings ‘The Yellows’, the world is turned grey but for a yellow shining element – the glowing beauty often overlooked in our hurry to deal with our daily lives. These paintings attempt to reawaken our sense of wonder.

Alongside this are many works from the Line Drawing series. These graceful, peculiar, tender drawings in pen span many subjects, each one hinting at a story unfolding. Numbering over 2,000 drawings, this prolific series began in late 2019. The confidence of the mark-making and the sense of fluidity make these drawings appealing to both classical and contemporary tastes.

Kate Hughes studied at CGLAS and is the winner of several prizes including the De Laszlo Prize for Portraiture, the Philip Connard Award and the Haworth Prize. Her artist residencies include Queen Mary University Dept of Neuroscience, Poetry in Aldeburgh
Festival, Papworth Hospital Dept of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Royal Brompton Hospital, and Cill Rialaig (Ireland). Her artwork and prose have been included in Agenda Poetry, The Guardian, Girls Who Fight zine and the novella ‘Yes, I am a Destroyer. In 2023, she
produced her first book of paintings and poems, Nineteen Sound Pieces. She has given talks about her work at Sci Bar London and Senate House. She works from Rye and London.