Jack Penny

As much as Jack Penny would say himself that trips from his studio on the Sussex coast up to London are a necessity for drawing inspiration for the frantic characters that people his works, it was exactly this busyness and tension that drove him out of the city in the first place. He is well-positioned - and well-practised - at homing in on a theme and all its complexities and intuituvely, almost unconsciously, gets down on the canvas all the clamour, colour and chaos the viewer sees.

The subtleties of German Expressionism - the bold Kirchner colours, the slight melancholia of Otto Dix - are tantalising to see in Jack's pieces; the role of artist as present-day social commentator is one in which Jack could well satisfy. Much like the amplified swimmers of his eponymous series, and their increasingly crowded pool, Jack does not just create ripples but confronts the viewer with an almighty splash!