11 South Grove N6 6BS
Exhibition at Highgate Gallery: Fates and Furies
4 – 17 July 2025
Vivien Thomason is a consummate colourist. She drips, swirls, layers and streams colour sometimes balanced and harmonious, sometimes menacing and unexpected. Her abstract works are a clear statement about the power of colour to energise our senses and feed our thoughts and fantasies.
The traumas of the earth and the rage of long-forgotten victims are all recurring themes. Unashamedly gothic, Vivien often incorporates apocalyptic figures storming from the canvas like ‘Furies’ on a quest to avenge the injustices and misogyny of the world. Vivien also re-works Gauguin’s Tahitian paintings, reclaiming the exploited young women as empowered ‘witches’, no longer weak or submissive. Other compositions include ‘maps’ of the sea and land incorporating bird and animal motifs, ‘necklace’ paintings with large carved beads layered over mourning ‘figures’, lost in lament. Regardless of the dramatic themes, touches of humour are also in evidence. Her paintings are rendered and dripped in liquid acrylics.
After a lengthy career in fashion, Vivien picked up her paints and poured her passions onto canvas. Her career made her profoundly aware how colour can appeal and affect mood. It also clarified how women are treated and often exploited in the industry. After years of faster and faster fashion, Vivien seeks to make amends by creating work that references the state of our world today and the climate catastrophe.
Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays & Sundays 10:00-16:00
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 04 July 2025 18:00-20:30