Charleston House, Firle, Lewes East Sussex BN8 6LL

Shani Rhys James: tea on the sofa, blood on the carpet

Welsh artist Shani Rhys James’ portraits are brutally honest and emotionally charged. Many of the paintings in the exhibition draw on Rhys James’ childhood memories or explore her uneasy relationship with her mother. In ‘Blue Top’ (2013), the woman is depicted in early middle age, looming large above her small daughter, while in ‘Glass of Water’ (2017), she lies hunched against her pillows after suffering a stroke late in life. In both large paintings, the woman’s dark eyes stare out from the canvas – pupils which, on closer inspection, resolve from black into impasto swirls of purple, blue and green. Review by Anna Souter

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