Touch Me: Valerie Ellis – Espacio Gallery, London (LAST CHANCE TO SEE)

A refreshing take on the theme of touch and connection from an Australian artist in London. Valerie Ellis is one to watch.

Touch Me by Valerie Ellis: Connecting Despite It All

It’s interesting. I’ve commented once or twice on how much new theatre writing in the last year has focused on the theme of human connection. The longer timeline for mounting exhibitions means that this isn’t quite as evident on the public gallery/museum front. Commercial galleries are faster moving, however, so it is here that we look for responses to the experiences we have all lived through in 2020. This week I had the opportunity of visiting one such exhibition, Touch Me, with works by Valerie Ellis.

Human connection is actually how I ended up at the gallery. Something which I posted on social media, in the hopes that it would reach people, reached Valerie, who suggested I dropped by. On a rainy Saturday I did just that, and had the opportunity to speak to Valerie about her work, our lives in London, the art scene… A great opportunity to step out of our bubbles for a moment and forge a connection on different levels.

Speaking to Valerie about her work was a wonderful privilege. We can try to interpret artworks for ourselves, of course, but there is nothing like understanding what the intent was behind the brushstrokes. And brushstrokes are key to Ellis’s Touch Me series. She describes the paintings as a way to push beyond figurative representation; instead communicating her own physical presence as a person who chose colours, laid down brushstrokes… A way of being present to the viewer across time and space. The effect is quite physical and emotional, hence the title Touch Me.

Commercial Galleries Have Led The Charge

Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about museums reopening this coming week. But I have really enjoyed my trips to commercial galleries in the last month. I enjoy the small-scale (human-scale) exhibitions – enough to really take in without museum fatigue setting in. I enjoy that the work I’m seeing is often brand new. And I enjoy discovering new artists (or at least artists who are new to me) and finding out what they have to say.

Touch Me was no exception. Ellis’s work shows technical talent as well as an insightful purpose behind her recent abstract canvases. Espacio Gallery is a relative large space, so downstairs there are earlier figurative works on display. This is a great way to get to know a new artist and see a range of work, styles and media. I look forward to seeing what comes next both from Ellis and from Espacio Gallery. Ellis is increasingly on the London artistic radar, with visits to her exhibition from several tastemakers, so I encourage you to drop by today if you’re in the East End (or otherwise watch this space!).

Touch Me on until 16 May 2021

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