Rachel Gracey: Canna Lily Yellow, 2021

About the artist

Rachel Gracey (UK, born 1968) trained at Wimbledon School of Art. Using Lithography, Gracey breathes light between the shifting forms of rural or urban landscapes and seascapes.

Gracey depicts windows into vistas that constitute moments in a journey. They are the connective lines throughout her works. From lively adventures to explorations of energy, form and colour, Gracey draws us into her way of looking, feeling and experiencing. She enables us to see beyond the simple surface, into the often sublime spaces that nature offers up, quietly and powerfully.

Gracey is absorbed and enthralled by the process and power of printmaking. The making allows for a level of experimentation and collaboration which results in a practice which is constantly labile and sometimes throws up unexpected results. It reflects Gracey’s own desire to go beyond mere observation and her commitment to explore and reveal the unseen. As her subject is landscape, delving into process can result in works that are uniquely evocative stirring memories in the artist and viewer alike as shifting thoughts seek out recognisable forms and places.

These small works are part of a commission from Chelsea Physic Garden celebrating their 350th Anniversary. They chose some members of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers to record a year in the life of their beautiful garden. It was a very special time watching, smelling and recording some incredible plants and absorbing the atmosphere; seeing the impact the garden has on its visitors. These prints represent the punch of colour, the strength of form and richness that nature holds.