EXTREMES AND INSTABILITIES
Janette Kerr likes a good storm - especially if it involves huge breaking, crashing waves. A painter deeply embedded in place, working at the interface between land, sea, and historical experience, she’s been called the ‘best painter of the sea in these islands’ (Brian Fallon, Chief Critic of the Irish Times).
‘..the energy in Kerr’s work reflects the power of nature itself, particularly with regard to her wayward scrawling, cutting, and dragging into her painted surface….’, (Ian McKay, State of Sea catalogue, Art North Projects 2020)
NEWS
Most of the work on my website is for sale - each image has details of size and medium and should indicate whether it’s in my studio or with a gallery. Please get in touch if you are interested in purchasing a painting or drawing. I also gives talks to Art Societies and will be giving one to Clifton Art Society in early December.
I am very pleased to have been invited to exhibit four large paintings at Gairloch Museum (Scotland) as part of the RSA Select 200th Celebration.
This opens on Saturday 5th September - Saturday 24th October 2026 in the Lower and Upper Galleries
https://www.gairlochmuseum.org/rsa-artists
I will be giving a short talk in the galleries on Saturday Sept 5th at 10.30am
Current Exhibitions
I have new paintings at The Scottish Gallery (Edinburgh), Clifton Contemporary Gallery (Bristol), and The Shetland Gallery (Yell, Shetland).
(Contact for these galleries is at the end of this section)
A stoor o’ wind, Brindister 40x40cm 16”x16 oil on linen, framed 51x51cm
A pure cold wind blows me half way there, Voe of Dale 30.5x40.5cm 16”x12” oil on gesso panel. framed 41x52cm
The Open Eye Gallery (Edinburgh) also holds a number of my small paintings - If they are not on the walls then please ask to see them! https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/artists/54-janette-kerr/works/
Other projects:
I’ve set up a year-long Deep Mapping Project in conjunction with Walking the Land https://walkingtheland.org.uk/deep-encounters/
This is an intensive look at a particular place selected by each artists and includes geography, history, and ecology. Working collaboratively, but from different parts of the world, we hold periodic conversations about how we are each representing our piece of land, and ideas for shared activities. Each artist has been walk the perimeter of their area, tracing the outline, recording what it contains using photographs, words, drawings, maps, sound etc. Walking and getting to know our areas, activities and engagements is developing gradually from a growing familiarity. And we are playful in our responses!
My chosen area is a pond concealed within a small wood in Somerset. Currently it has dried up - an indication of climate change.
