Sue Arrowsmith
The Light that Carries Me
Galerie Andres Thalmann, Zurich
Opening Thursday, 15th May 2025, 6 – 8 p.m.
Exhibition, 16th May – 19th July, 2025
In her latest body of work, Sue Arrowsmith explores the interplay of light, nature, and surface with striking poetic clarity. In this conversation, the artist reveals how deeply her practice is rooted in the experience of the natural world – and how instinctively her creative process unfolds. Between reflective metallic surfaces, lyrical titles, and the power of colour, Arrowsmith speaks of her constant source of inspiration: the light that permeates everything.
Galerie Andres Thalmann: The title of the exhibition is The Light that Carries Me. Light seems to be the central theme in your work. Your older works are characterised by a reduced palette - neutral colours, such as black, white and shades of grey. Some of these works remind me of papercuts, the interplay between light and shade. Your current works use a broader colour palette and some very bright colours, such as red or pink, as well as metallic colours that reflect the light. What significance does light play in your works? Is it a symbol or a visual element?
Sue Arrowsmith: Light is everything. It is instrumental in my work. From the photographs I take in the park, looking up through the trees, to the image projected onto my studio wall and the reflection and absorption of light on my metallic panels. My recent paintings are never still. Throughout the light’s movement in the day, it reverberates and bounces across their surfaces.
GAT: The titles of works have a different meaning and significance for each artist. Some do not attach any importance to the title, for other artists it is well-considered and part of the work. How do you relate to the titles of your works? How do they come about?
SA: My titles are poetic. As I look at the completed painting, I work out its name. I love reading poetry and listening to song lyrics. I think about nature as I spend a lot of time outside.
There’s an energy being in a natural environment that really inspires me. So my titles are often bits of all these things. It could be a feeling, something I have read or heard or simply springs to mind.
GAT: How do you choose your colours and formats for your works?
SA: The importance of light was very evident in those earlier pieces. Even though, at that time, I was more interested in the structure of the things I painted - mainly trees, often at large scale. I made some works that were black on black, where my paints were glossy and matt. These works employed a different way of using light. Even a large work became very active as the light moved across the painting. I never saw these paintings as dark. They seemed to push the light forward towards the viewer.
Then later I became interested in using metallics after meeting a designer who was using gold ink on her textiles.The discovery of gold was revelatory to me. It was also an element and real, not manufactured. I liked that. I realised not only how beautiful golden inks and paints are but how real metallic leaf is, so shiny and delicious. This has become an expensive passion! You can get golds in all kinds of colours such as Champagne, Moon and Rose. There is also Silver and Copper which change as they age through oxidisation. It all feels so human and organic.
Actually this is my first solo exhibition that focuses completely on paintings incorporating metal leaf.
The sizes and formats of works come to me quite instinctively informed by the images I have and what I feel like making; the last painting informing what I make next. I might see something I like in an exhibition, a book or online that gives me an idea for a work also.
GAT: Was there an event or a person that influenced you in your artistic work?
SA: I have always loved the fluidity and grace of Henri Matisse’s work. The way he could draw a face with one movement. That must have taken a lifetime to master.
Also, Ellsworth Kelly was a big influence on me. I liked his photographs that looked so abstract but were actually of the natural environments around him. Whenever I see his curved paintings, I see those landscapes. I can’t ignore Agnes Martin either. From her writing to her beautiful calm and delicate works. These were such an inspiration especially in my formative years.
GAT: What does the title The Light that Carries Me mean to you personally?
SA: The penultimate work I painted for the show was a large golden Japanese Zelkova that became The Light that Carries Me. It felt like totally the right title for our exhibition. Even when things seem difficult, even when I am frightened, light always comes back in. I believe it is omnipresent, ready to rise back up.