Caroline Popham

Caroline Popham is a London based artist, working primarily with paint, paper and graphite, she draws on architecture, landscape, memory and observation to create works that sit between abstraction and representation. Her work explores the relationship between structure and atmosphere, balancing measured forms with painterly surfaces and a lightness of touch.

"In this new body of work, I use painted and cut paper to explore the space between abstraction and recognition. Simple structures, divisions and recurring linear forms suggest fragments of landscape, architecture and the natural world without describing them directly.

The work develops through a process of painting, cutting, placing and shifting paper, allowing compositions to emerge and change as I work. I’m interested in the tension between structure and spontaneity, and in bringing a lightness of touch to forms that can otherwise feel quite measured. Precise edges sit alongside painterly surfaces, visible brush marks and irregularities in the paper.

Colour is an important part of this exploration, as is the space between forms and the way they interact. I’m interested in creating a sense of movement, distance and atmosphere without being too descriptive, leaving the work open enough for the viewer to bring their own associations to it."