Michele Fletcher:Remember the Forest.

6th-28th June 2008

Canadian-born artist Michele Fletcher’s enigmatic paintings can be characterised as romantic landscapes imbued with a subtle touch of the supernatural. Inspired by the beauty of London’s urban parks and forests, these paintings extend an invitation to the viewer, asking them to remember a forested world once inhabited by sumptuous flora and fauna, where dense canopies cocoon fragile ecologies that halt the passage of time.

The artist draws on a unique set of references, from the Canadian and Northern European Landscape traditions, to the Pre-Raphaelites and Richard Dadd. Dadd’s influence is particularly noteworthy in Michele’s obsessive regard for detail to create her own intense fairytale worlds. The post-modern methodology of blending together several artistic periods is similar to that of American painter Inka Essenhigh, who creates inimitable works steeped in the traditions of western painting.

However, Michele brings something new to the fold - a most delicate balancing act between divergent ideologies and her own pursuit of a personal utopia.

The work is paradoxically seductive and sinister yet ultimately beautiful, where imagery is built jewel-like through a layer of thin glaze, detailed surface pattern and brilliance of colour. The pieces lament a lost wilderness, an impossible illusion that perhaps can only exist now through the magic of painting. Michele graduated from Chelsea College of Art and Design in 2006 with a Masters in Fine Art.

Previously she completed a BA (Honours) in Fine Art and Critical Theory at Goldsmiths. Her work can be found in a number of collections including Ernst & Young and University of the Arts London.