To define Kerry Harding as a ‘landscape painter’ would be misleading. For her, the landscape functions as much as medium as it does subject matter, a visual tool through which the artist explores the technical possibilities of oil painting. Her work, as a result, traverses many genres, from romanticism to
the uncanny, from photorealism to the abstract. In short, Harding is not a landscape painter who
uses oil, she is an oil painter who uses the landscape.
Living alongside the same stretch of coast for over twenty years, Harding is in sync with
the cyclical nature of her environment. Through prolonged examination and repeated enquiry of these visual references, the artist has developed a highly unique approach that allows her to break the landscape down into its constituent parts and reassemble them in endlessly varied combinations.
Mirroring between sea and sky have long been features of her work, often
blurring the horizon and purposefully distorting the sense of reality on view, but in recent
paintings she delves deeper. Dividing scenes along the vertical, rather than horizontal, trees and
headlands mirror each other to create a new, distinct sense of distortion. Reminiscent of the
Rorschach inkblot psychology tests, the effect is such that the viewer is drawn further away from
recognition of the scene as a landscape and further into the sphere of abstraction and
dreamscapes. In doing so, we are encouraged to share the artist’s enjoyment of producing such
detailed sections of replication as an opportunity for meditation and self-reflection.
Extracts from ‘Patterns of Reflection’ Isabella Joughin, April 2026
Kerry Harding (b.1972) is a British Painter based in Cornwall. She studied Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University, and completed an MA in Painting at Falmouth University. Her work has been exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including solo exhibitions with Candida Stevens Gallery, London and Chichester, The Discerning Eye at Mall Galleries, London, Wells Contemporary, The Arborealists and Newlyn Art Gallery. Harding is represented by Candida Stevens Gallery.
Education
2000-03
MA Painting, Falmouth University, Cornwall
1991-94
BA Hons Fine Art, Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University
1990-91
Foundation, Mid Cheshire College, Cheshire
Selected Exhibitions
2026 Patterns of Reflection – Candida Stevens Gallery
2025 Works on Paper 7 Blue Shop Galleries, London
1 Large 2 Small 10 Artists Candida Stevens Gallery
2024
Wells Contemporary, Wells Cathedral, Somerset
As if by Osmosis Candida Stevens Gallery
2023
The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
When Feeling Out of Sight Candida Stevens Gallery, Cromwell House, London
2022
Edge of Day Solo exhibition, Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester
Water and Ways Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester
2021
Being with Trees The Arborealists, The Bermondsey Project Space, London
Being with Trees The Arborealists, Gustavo Bacarisas Galleria, Gibralta
Weathering the Storm Solo Exhibition, Candida Stevens Gallery, Chichester, West Sussex
Painted Postcards Solo Exhibition, The Picture Room, Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall
‘The Top 100’ The Auction Collective, The Department Store, Brixton, London
2020
The Arborealists at The National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire
2019
The Princes Trust Auction, Highgrove, Gloucestershire
The Arborealists at The Collegiale Sainte-Croix de Loudun, France
‘The Spring Auction’ The Auction Collective, Menier Gallery, London
2018
The Arborealists at St Ives Society of Artists, St Ives Cornwall
The Arborealists with Paul Nash, Black Swan Arts, Somerset
The Arborealists at John Davies Gallery, Gloucestershire
Penwith Gallery, St Ives, St Ives School of Painting tutor show
2014-15
Penwith Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall
2013
‘Coast Matter’ Solo show, Heseltine Gallery, Truro School, Cornwall
2010
Newlyn Society of Artists, Double Vision, Exchange Gallery, Penzance
2007-09
Micheal Obert Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2004-07
Solo and mixed shows, Lemon Street Gallery, Cornwall
2005
NSA at Thompsons The City Gallery, London
NSA (Newlyn Society of Artists) critics choice, Lemon Street Gallery, Cornwall
Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Miami Art Fair, Florida, USA
2003
Residency, Perth International Arts Festival, Kidogo Arthouse, Perth, Australia
2002
Northcote Road Gallery, London
2001
Winter Exhibition, South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, Exeter, Devon
Solo exhibition, Phoenix Gallery, South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, Devon
Northcote Road Gallery, London
For full CV please message through Contact page.