Blue Shop Gallery presents
'BUCOLIA II'
11th June - 27th July 2025
PV Wednesday 11th June 6-9pm
72 Brixton Road, Oval SW9 6BH
Gallery opening hours: Wed - Sun | 11am - 6pm
JOSH RAZ
SAMMI LYNCH
JEMIMA MOORE
SAM DOUGLAS
ORLA KANE
SALVATORE FIORELLO
ELEANOR JOHNSON
YAGE GUO
MORWENNA MORRISON
LAURA L BELL
FRED COPPIN
JAMES FERGUSON-ROSE
FERGUS HARE
TOM SCOTCHER
Bucolia, a word derived from the original ‘bucolic’, describes a powerful longing for nature—a feeling of affinity with and belonging within the countryside. This exhibition celebrates work that revels in the tranquility, delight, and mystery we experience in the presence of the natural world.
Alongside the human figure, nature has been one of the foremost sources of artistic inspiration throughout history. The idea of the bucolic stems from classical pastoral poetry, and its influence resurged during the Renaissance, where idealized landscapes reappeared in art. Early Renaissance works often relegated nature to a fantastical or symbolic backdrop, as in the heavenly panel of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. The rediscovery of linear perspective and a growing interest in natural history in the 15th century ushered in a more realist approach, exemplified by the art of Titian and Giorgione. Their synthesis of realism and classical symbolism produced some of the most celebrated works of the High Renaissance.
Centuries later, the Pre-Raphaelites became champions of the bucolic. In 1843, John Ruskin’s Modern Painters series advocated for nature as a moral and spiritual force, profoundly influencing the Brotherhood’s dedication to hyper-realistic detail. Their reverence for nature is epitomized in Millais’ Ophelia, perhaps the most iconic bucolic expression of the period.
In the 19th century, Manet looked back to Titian’s The Pastoral Concert while painting Déjeuner sur l’herbe, one of the most celebrated pastoral scenes of the Impressionist era. The invention of portable oil paint tubes freed artists to work en plein air, sparking new explorations of light and landscape. For Monet and his contemporaries, the challenge of capturing fleeting effects of light led to the innovative forms that came to define Impressionism.
By the 20th century, the Expressionists collapsed the boundary between artist and landscape. In the work of Munch or Münter, nature becomes warped by inner experience. This impulse paved the way for the gestural abstraction of artists like Cy Twombly, whose Quattro Stagioni series reimagines the bucolic, weaving together classical references and rural hues in a dialogue with the long history of pastoral painting.
Across Bucolia, artists respond to nature in varied and personal ways. Josh Raz’s Windblown Ice Skaters shows figures in joyful harmony with a frozen landscape, embodying immersion and escape. Yage Guo’s The Dream of Chrysanthemum centres on a single flower whose hypnotic beauty draws the viewer into quiet contemplation.
Other artists engage directly with the tradition of the bucolic. Morwenna Morrison’s work is set in lush bowers and forests reminiscent of Renaissance painting, but her subtle disruptions—ambiguous, modern intrusions—unsettle these idyllic scenes, as if the contemporary world is encroaching on timeless landscapes where we once found refuge.
Elsewhere, abstraction takes hold. Jemima Moore, for example, sees her practice not as an act of personal authorship but as a submission to a creative flow, akin to the deep underwater currents that inspire her work. Here, the bucolic is not depicted but embodied in process—freedom and idealism captured in movement and material.
For many of us, life in dense urban environments heightens our longing for nature. The works in Bucolia reflect both gratitude for fleeting encounters with the natural world and an acute awareness of its fragility. This exhibition returns us to one of art’s most enduring inspirations—and to one of humanity’s most essential sites of renewal.
‘Bucolia 1’ was a group show at Blue Shop Cottage in 2021, featuring Francesca Mollett, Mary Herbert, Plum Cloutman, Kate MccGwire, to name a few. This second iteration continues the conversation, deepening the gallery’s exploration of humanity’s timeless bond with nature.
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'The Dream of Chrysanthemum', Yage Guo, Oil on canvas, 110 x 140 cm, 2025
‘Casting Light on an Old World II’, Morwenna Morrison, 30cm x 30cm Oil on wood panel, 2025
‘Folly Moss’, James Ferguson-Rose, Oil on linen, 180 x 120cm, 2024
‘Cherry’, Fred Coppin, Oil on wood panel, 85 x 85 x 3.5 cm, 2025