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Join us for the opening of Laura Medcalf’s second London solo show, SENSE OF CALM, at the Liszt Institute London on 11th September, 6.00 - 8.00 pm.Amid the movement and energy of Trafalgar Square, SENSE OF CALM offers a moment to pause, a space to step away from the city’s fast pace and into something slower, elemental, and immersive. In this solo exhibition, British-Hungarian multidisciplinary artist Laura Medcalf transforms the Liszt Institute into a space of stillness and presence, shaped by open waters, soil, and sunlight.
Working with soluble, light-sensitive crystals mixed in her unique way to paint her first layer, Medcalf creates each of her works directly at the meeting point between land and open water. These pieces are not representations of landscapes, but physical imprints which result from a meditative collaboration with nature. Medcalf immerses the surfaces of her works into rivers, lakes, and seas around the world: from Britain’s Jurassic Coast to the Danube and Tisza rivers, the still waters of Lake Balaton, to all the way to the Mediterranean as well as the Caribbean Sea. The sunlight, sand, open water, and the weather conditions, together with Medcalf’s layered gestural painting process, create unique, unrepeatable textures and tones across the surface of each work.
The process begins with brushstrokes applied to the paper, which are soon set aside. Medcalf works in harmony with the environment, allowing the organic materials gathered directly from shorelines to guide her hand. This collaboration enables the landscape itself to leave its imprint on the work. The intensity of the sun, the texture of the soil, and the composition of the water all play a vital role in shaping each piece. Her approach is both intuitive and exacting, embodying a delicate balance between control and surrender.
None of the works has a fixed centre point. Their open, expansive aura draws the viewer in, radiating a sense of infinite calm. With every glance, new forms and layers begin to unfold. Each piece holds the trace of a specific place, allowing the ephemeral moment to become paradoxically enduring. These works are imprints of a quiet dialogue with nature and time, silent recollections of shifting light, gestures of weather, subtle emotional currents, and the transient moments of the natural world.
As part of the London Design Festival, this exhibition explores how art can become more than an object of observation, a space for stillness and inner calm. Built from organic elements, the works establish a delicate balance between the rhythms of nature and human perception, offering an opportunity for reflection, renewal, and a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us.
In a world that rarely slows down, SENSE OF CALM invites viewers to pause. To listen. To feel the flow. To follow the traces of light. To look beyond the surface, towards the quiet, invisible forces that shape us all.
The exhibition is open to the public 12 September - 20 October, Monday through Friday, 11.00 am - 7.00 pm.
Exhibition opening: 11 September, 6.00 - 8.00 pm. RSVP essential.
In partnership with the London Design Festival
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
17- 19 Cockspur Street, SW1Y 5BL London, United Kingdom, 17-19 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5, United Kingdom
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