Some believe there is a shared common ground among figurative painters, as though simply by virtue of the fact that artists who are dealing with an aspect of reality must necessarily have a shared reality. The only certainty here is that the word ‘reality’ is itself uncertain and the minute you examine it the ground beneath your feet opens up and you are faced with something unknown and changing.

In a time when so much photography and video is seen and promoted, painting seems to have taken a back seat. If you want to record an event or an aspect of human behaviour the camera provides a marvellous and instant solution. But painting can record things too, and in different more complex ways. The medium itself is the prime factor in this and those who are engaged with the language of painting find ways to capture reality at different levels. Some of the descriptive elements used by photographers may appear to be the same in painting – and in some painting it is – but there are artists who go beyond the surface appearance. To try and describe this is both difficult and complicated because it is different in every case. Put simply, a sort of game takes place where the various elements in painting act on and against each other so that they produce a multitude of forms and movements quite different from the depicted scene. A camera simply can’t do this.

Different Landscapes, means not only different places but also different ways of seeing and interpreting. The six painters in this exhibition have one thing in common, a personal subject uniquely viewed. We hope by showing these works together to reveal the essential character of each one.

Ideally, we would have liked to present the exhibition in a bigger public space with more painters from Britain and abroad. Perhaps one day it will happen. In the meantime, we intend by making a start, we can play a small part in showing a much-neglected area of contemporary painting.