Susannah Fiennes

In this new series of paintings, Susannah Fiennes explores the geometry of gesture and how arms act as a connection between us and the object or action. She chooses quiet, everyday subjects which have a tenderness and intimacy - someone could be putting flowers into a vase or lighting a candle, in settings only hinted at but which for her, have resonance.

After graduating from the Slade in 1983, where she was taught by Euan Uglow, Fiennes won the Boise Travel Scholarship (Italy), the Royal Academy British Institution Fund Award and the BP Travel Award (China). She has taught at Dulwich College, the National Portrait Gallery, and The Royal Drawing School, London.

Since the 1990s, Fiennes’ work has been included in group exhibitions at various museums, including at the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of Wales. Solo shows have been staged at the National Portrait Gallery, the Grosvenor Gallery and Rafael Valls Gallery, London. As a portraitist, Fiennes rose to prominence when she became the Royal Tour Artist for HRH The Prince of Wales, travelling to Oman, South America and of particular note, to Hong Kong for the Handover in 1997.  Fiennes has completed commissions for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Hertford College, Oxford and her work can be found in the collections of HRH The Prince of Wales, the National Portrait Gallery and the Parliamentary Art Collection.