Working in a restrained, monochrome language, Simon Rowley abstracts the landscape before him until it becomes almost unrecognisable. What remains is a quiet sense of place — a trace that draws the viewer in, inviting them to search for what the artist has seen.
Simon Rowley studied at the Slade School of Fine Art. He is a recipient of an Arts and Humanities Research Council Award and has been twice shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. His work has been widely exhibited and is held in collections across the UK.
His current body of work, Where the Land Meets the Sea, continues his long-standing engagement with landscape, focusing on the pilgrimage sites of south Snowdonia and West Wales. Working in a largely monochrome, abstract language, Rowley abstracts the landscape before him until it becomes almost unrecognisable. Yet something remains — a sense of presence and quiet narrative that encourages the viewer to look slowly and attentively. Through this process, the works suggest memory, ritual and the layered histories embedded within the land, conveyed with a restrained and understated elegance.