Reimagining Fitzroy House

I’ve been thinking a lot about Fitzroy House while putting this exhibition together.

It’s an important building in Lewes, but it’s easy to miss. You walk past it, or you know it’s there, but you don’t always go in. Over the past five years I’ve held exhibitions of my work here most years, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the building. Gradually, I’ve come to understand just how special it is.

It was once a library, and it’s said that Virginia Woolf spent time here. She even mentions it in her diaries. You feel some of that when you’re inside, but not in any grand way.

So it has felt like a privilege to show my work here again.

Alongside the exhibition, we’ve been thinking about the future of the building. There’s a growing idea, Reimagining Fitzroy House, to open it up more fully as a cultural space for Lewes. Somewhere people can come in, spend time, talk, think, and perhaps make things. A space for the imagination, in a very simple sense.

This summer we’re planning to begin opening the building on Friday mornings. Nothing formal, just a chance for people to drop in, have a conversation, and start to share what the building could become.

Reimagining Fitzroy House

The work in the exhibition comes largely from time spent out on the Downs, especially walking up towards Mount Caburn. It’s part of my routine, and it feeds into everything I do, whether directly or not.

The prints themselves have been produced in collaboration with Harwood King. We’ve taken care over them.

One of the things I value about print is that it allows the work to be experienced in a different way.

All prints are made to order and then prepared individually.

If you’re in Lewes, do come in. You don’t need to be someone who buys art. It’s just as much about seeing the building, and spending a bit of time in it.

And if you can’t make it, the work is available on my website as well.