Artist Statement
Linda Wallis, based in the UK, finds inspiration in the everyday and ordinary. With a fondness for form and a touch of the bizarre, her drawings navigate the line between the plausible and the ridiculous. She creates strange arrays of objects and shapes that, while indecipherable, seem to depict something tangible. Linda has shifted from painting her usual city and townscapes to focus on what she sees as manifestations of her unconscious. By reinterpreting patterns, forms, shapes, and textures from ordinary items, she brings to life an eccentric collection of playful constructions on paper.
Wallis explains, “As an artist, I enjoy using various mediums, styles, and approaches to fit different ongoing projects. My early work shows an interest in representation, context, and plausibility. These oil paintings, which depict the housing estate where I grew up, provide the foundation for my current work. By integrating my early emotional experiences into the process, I’ve uncovered an unusual and surreal narrative. More recently, my focus has shifted to the area in and around where I currently live. My paintings aren’t typical views of Nottingham; they depict the back streets and unloved spaces where people go about their daily routines. I aim to make these places special, to encourage people to notice the unnoticeable and see their environment differently.”
In 2017, Wallis temporarily moved away from painting and began a series of colored pencil drawings influenced by objects and mini environments. By removing environmental context, the forms are isolated, resembling sculptural pieces. Landscapes are simplified into basic organic shapes, clustered and arranged to evoke dreamlike scenes.
Linda Wallis has been featured in numerous exhibitions in London, New York, and Berlin.
Selected Exhibitions
2023 ‘Athens Art Fair’ Platforms Projects, Athens
2023 ‘Knowle Hill’ The Split Gallery, London
2022 ‘Paperworks III’ NBB Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2022 ‘Angels with Dirty Faces’ Ojiri Gallery, London, UK
2022 ‘Instagram Live’ 19 Karen Contemporary Artspace, Australia
2022 ‘Inside Draughtswomen’ Feinkunst Kruger, Hamburg, Germany
2022 ‘Frequencies (for healing)’ Confer-Karnac Artspace, London, UK
2021 ‘Thingness’ Underdonk, New York, US
2021 ‘Through the Mirage’ Fitzrovia Gallery, London, UK
2021 ‘Heads Full of Poetry’ Simard Bilodeau Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA, US
2021 ‘Begin Again’ Binder Projects, Memphis, TN, US
2019 ‘Decade’, Surface Gallery, Nottingham, UK
2019 Open Studios, Notts, UK
2019 About Six, Carrington Festival, Nottingham, UK
2019 Festival of Small Works, Sherwood, Nottingham, UK
2018 Festival of Small Works, Sherwood, Nottingham, UK
2016 Sherwood Festival, Nottingham, UK
2016 Doctor’s Orders, Public House, Nottingham, UK
2015 Sherwood Festival, Nottingham, UK
Juried exhibitions
2021 Tarpey Gallery Open, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, UK
2015-2020 Harley Gallery Open, Nottinghamshire, UK
Virtual exhibitions
2023 ‘In Bloom’ Group Exhibition, Victoria Law Projects
2023 The Invisible Clue, Willow Art Space, UK
2021 The Holy Art, Blast
2020 Showhouse JayJay
2020 Binder Projects ‘House Party’
Publications
2023 Moth Belly Magazine, curated by Calamity Fair
