Saul Hay Gallery in Manchester will be hosting a new exhibition by renowned Manchester artist, Jen Orpin, exploring the importance of the journey – how it connects us to those we love and the emotions it provokes. Running from Saturday 4th to Sunday 26th March, the exhibition celebrates the journey by car – looking at its motorways and landmarks and how it forces us as individuals to confront memories and let our minds travel beyond concrete confinements.

Jen says: “My current practice focuses on one of the fundamental elements of human relationships, connecting with each other and those who are closest in our lives. This connection can manifest itself emotionally, spiritually and physically. The latter requires us to come together, meet, see and touch each other. This cannot happen without one crucial act – the journey that takes us to them.

“My art looks at the relationship we have with the motorway and its landmarks. These visual representations of everyday topographies and the framed view from the car make up and form the basis of memories and nostalgia. The importance of these external landscapes is often mirrored by the internal dialogue of the driver and passenger within the confinements of the car, at times offering an intimate confessional space. The mundanity of these everyday actions often belies the truth of deep routed emotions that come with well-travelled routes to the people and places that mean the most to us.

“In these paintings I aim to portray this feeling – emotionalism is a key element in the success of each one and as a viewer you are forced to look down the road as its sole traveller and undertake each journey as your own. Each bridge or landmark acts as the sitter in the landscape’s portrait, confronting you head on, holding your gaze as your mind travels under and beyond its concrete confinements.”

Orpin is a hugely respected artist, with her work held in public and private collections both nationally and internationally. She has exhibited across the UK including London, Liverpool and Sheffield. She is an associate member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts (MAFA).

Jen will be painting live in the gallery each weekend where she can talk to visitors and collectors about her new body of work.

Ian Hay, Director of Saul Hay Gallery says: “Jen Orpin has, over recent years, become one of the most celebrated painters in Manchester and beyond. Her work is always recognisable and yet constantly evolving. Her brilliantly rendered paintings capture the beauty in what might often be overlooked, and she imbues the everyday landmarks of our lives with great emotion, memory and nostalgia.”

Saul Hay Gallery hosts a vibrant collection of painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers and ceramicists from the Manchester region and beyond. For more information visit www.saulhayfineart.co.uk.

Opening Times:

Tuesday – Saturday: 10.30am – 6pm

Sunday: 10.30am – 5pm.

Address: Saul Hay Gallery, Railway Cottage, Off Castle Street, Manchester, M3 4LZ