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
Current Exhibitions
Cold wind - sea heaping up, Shetland. 65 x 95cm oil on canvas, framed 80x100cm
The Northern Isles
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh are currently holding a couple of my paintings from a recent group exhibition of artists from Shetland, Orkney and the Northern Isles. The exhibition finished January 31st 2026; I will be delivering more in May
The Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ
T: (+44) 0131 558 1200
E: mail@scottish-gallery.co.uk
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
214th Exhibition
25 March-11 April 2026, 10-5, closed 5/6 April
Presented by Federation of British Artists
Mall Galleries
I have a small painting in this exhibition:
https://buyart.mallgalleries.org.uk/ri-2026/220-neddo-s-craas-voe-of-dale/
Neddo’s Crass, Voe of Dale, 17.5 x 32.5 (framed 43x59cm x 3cm) Neddo's Craas is a Shetland dialect word for small black clouds on the horizon portending wind or bad weather
COSMOS: the art of observing space
Slow time is on display at @rwabristol as part of ‘Cosmos: the art of observing Space’ until 19 April 🪐
I’m showing 20 solargraphic images made during residencies in collaboration with communities in Iceland, Greenland, Shetland, and Somerset.
Curated by Ione Parkin RWA, Cosmos celebrates our enduring fascination with space, bringing together both contemporary and historic artists.
https://www.rwa.org.uk/products/cosmos-the-art-of-observing-space
Delivered in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society, this exhibition offers a unique journey through time, imagination, and inquiry - inviting you to experience the awe, wonder, and curiosity that the cosmos continues to inspire.
My work is held by the following galleries:
The Scottish Gallery 16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/artists/janette-kerr
Kilmorack Gallery By Beauy, Inverness-shire https://www.kilmorackgallery.co.uk/janette-kerr-paintings/
Open Eye Gallery Dundas Street, Edinburgh https://www.openeyegallery.co.uk/artists/54-janette-kerr/overview/
The Shetland Gallery Yell, Shetland https://www.shetlandgallery.com/janette-kerr
Clifton Contemporary Gallery Clifton, Bristol https://www.cliftoncontemporaryart.co.uk/janette-kerr
Other projects involve:
A year-long Deep Mapping Project in conjunction with Walking the Land (see my Projects pages).
A Terminalia Celebration 2026 - a walk across Brindister to Catherine’s Water (this will shortly appear in my Blog page)