Kitty Hillier

My current practice uses anti-narrative abstract painting to explore an engagement with energy and natural forces through science, art, poetry, psychology and mythology.

Seemingly tranquil, my paintings consist of simple abstract shapes, derived from close observation of everyday details while out walking in the landscape. Paths are captured crudely at the time or half remembered and shaped by imagined stories, histories and unseen realities. Despite their outward tranquillity, these abstracted forms conjure thoughts of huge sea creatures deep underwater, planetary systems, or the microscopic and atoms of energy that connect all things, conveying a sense of an indeterminable threat bubbling underneath the surface.

Paintings are titled on completion, usually referencing a specific encounter or piece of research from the time of making. This can help to give the viewer permission to enter the work and bring their own narratives to it.

Kitty Hillier was born in London in 1984 and grew up in rural Dorset and Somerset. After completing her Foundation year at Falmouth Art School she gained her degree (1st) in Fine Art Painting at Bath School of Art and Design in 2007 and then undertook a year-long residency at Hazlegrove School. Alongside her practice Kitty has run a number of workshops for adults and children, most notably as lead artist for Somerset Art Works on The Great Crane Project, in partnership with the WWT and RSPB, to cultivate support and excitement among local communities for the reintroduction of cranes onto the Somerset levels.

Kitty won the Reveal Emerging Artist Award in 2009 with a show at Black Swan Arts, Frome and she was awarded the SAW Abundance commission in 2013 which included a two week residency at Stroud Valley Arts and site-specific installation at Cannington Gardens.

Her research continues to be rooted in what’s above and below the surface, with a belief that all things are delicately interconnected.

“I’m interested in the idea that re-connecting and gaining a better understanding of nature, the ocean and landscape is the key to creating a more harmonious world for humanity, ‘imagining a future world in which science, society an...

SOLO SHOWS

Small Ships, Falmouth 2019

Curves & Edges, At the Space CARO, Bruton and artist talk for local students 2018

SVA Exchange residency show, Stroud and artist talk 2013

Round Tower, Black Swan Arts, Frome and artist talk 2010

Hazlegrove residency show, Sparkford 2009



SELECTED GROUP SHOWS

Imagine, Falmouth Art Gallery 2019

Circle Contemporary, Cornwall 2019

Turn up the Heat, Yew Tree Gallery, St Just 2019

Penwith Gallery, St Ives 2018 + 2019

Intensives, Falmouth Art School 2017

Telling Tales, Brewhouse, Taunton 2017

The Art School, Beside the Wave Gallery, Cornwall & London 2017

Ann Sacks, Design Week, Chelsea Harbour London 2017

In the Brut, Bruton Art Factory 2016

Quiddity Fine Art, Andover 2015

Guggleton Gallery, Stalbridge 2014

Moorwood Art, Bruton 2014

Abundance, Cannington Walled Garden site-specific sculpture and artist talk 2013

Blurred Edges, (2-person show) Walcot Chapel, Bath 2013

An Ideal Soup, Willesden Green Gallery, London 2012

Pattern, Colour, Mood, Musgrove Hospital Gallery, Taunton 2012

Art for Youth, Royal College of Art, London 2011

Mystery & Mutability, (2-person show) Bridgwater Art Centre 2011

Harlesden Gallery, Tricycle Th...