Florence Hutchings, Dressing Room at The Redfern Gallery, Cork Street, London, April 2024 –  It does feel almost playful, not throwaway playful, if these pieces are playful then it is most definitely seriously playful, these are serious paintings. Maybe the playfulness is in the colour? The way she deconstructs the line, the shape, the legs of the table? This is an enjoyable show, Florence’s work always is and no, playful and enjoyable suggests something not to be valued, this is a (very) rewarding exhibition, a wonderful process, an impressively rewarding body of work. A highlight of a day spent in many West End galleries and art spaces (brought on by a need to see the Sasha Styles one day video installation at Outernet) a day in search of more, a day when most of what was seen we won’t bother mentioning, we are, as always, very picky as well as scattergun (a well aimed comment offered in terms of these fractured unproofed pages)  

“Florence Hutchings’ new work explores the theatre of the home. Her approach to combining oil and collage reflects the amalgamation and arrangement of possessions so often overlooked, but instead here elevated; Dressing Room focuses on the interior, portraying clothing, shoes and musical instruments in a way that seems unapologetic and striking. The homely habits captured by Hutchings acknowledge the domestic secrets of us all, bringing joy through the recognition of the self, depicted in bold and lively palettes”.

Not sure if I saw the homely habits of all? Maybe the homely habits of others, (my home after all is an art studio, no dressing tables here). What I did find were exciting points of view, things pointed out, the shapes of things to come and go, what I did find was a use of colour that excites, that delights. This is a delight, indeed the Gallerina agreed when I made that comment, “yes it is isn’t it” said the Gallerina, they are friendly here than they are in the East of this town.    

We first properly encountered Florence Hutchings via a rather ambitious Delphian Gallery take over The print Space on Kingsland Road here in East London for a show of her work back in 2018, back then we reported that “her big paintings of tables and chairs that I must admit probably doesn’t sound that exciting when you just read it here? Chairs? Who wants paintings of chairs and such? But these paintings are bold, these paintings are exciting, her paint is alive, these are striking pieces, pieces alive with abstract colour, paintings alive with shape, with line…” and here we are half a dozen years later and it is good to encounter her furniture again, her views, her “raw process of elimination and reconstruction”, it is just good to be in here and see where she’s got to – quite some way down the road actually, quite a few significant steps forward. Actually if I remember rightly the last time we encountered Florence’s work it was a standout piece in a group show right here at The Redfern Gallery and now Dressing Room is apparently the artist’s first solo exhibition in the respected Cork Street space, rather looks like things are going well for Florence Hutchings. I rather like that things are going well, I rather like this show, yeah, I know, who cares what I think. I really like this show. (sw)

The Redfern Gallery is found at 20 Cork Street, London W1S 3HL. Opening hours Mon to Fri – 11.00am to 5.30pm, Saturday – 11:00am to 2.00pm. Florence Hutchings, Dressing Room goes on until May 10th 2024 (so you can catch this one and the recommended Terry Frost exhibition next door at Flowers.

As always, do click on an image to see the whole picture or to run the slide show