A show celebrating never-before-seen work by Poppy Ellis and Marc Taylor.
This Spring 2022 exhibition celebrated the married couple's close and long-standing relationship with McCully & Crane and marked s a stylistic departure for both Poppy and Marc, with new techniques and subject matter explored
throughout the works.
Marc Taylor’s paintings are inspired by classic still life, architecture and Braque. His layering of colour is complex, often bringing an unexpected vibrancy to his subject matter.
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Because of his background in the antiques trade, reclaiming objects and materials has also become an integral part of Marc’s creative practice. While travelling he often combs antique shops and brocantes for unloved canvases, frames and ephemera to re-imagine or paint over. His still-lifes are a graphic curation of lost and found treasures from around the world.Â
Poppy Ellis’ style layers the painterly figurative with abstract graphic elements, textures and patterns. Her Art Direction background in publishing, packaging and food styling strongly influenced her love of colour and the joy it brings; Smartie blue, peppermint, bubblegum and sherbet lemon abound.
Poppy's sensuous use of paint and wonderful consistency of quality make her a natural successor to the early 20th century colourists - she identifies herself as a new colourist. Her vibrant portraits draw on a huge cross-section of old and modern masters, but perhaps the strongest comparisons are Matisse, Soutine and Cezanne.
"I am an observer of faces, if I’m looking at you quizzically it’s not because you have crumbs in your beard, I’m looking at the planes and the nuances of light as it plays across your cheekbones and upper lip. I record moments of bewilderment, joy, defiance and internal dialogue. Catching these fleeting, candid moments unobserved, I am a stalker of character." - Poppy Ellis
