Jo March solo show – There’s a Place for Us – 29 March-11 April, Marine House

Jo March is Cornish to the core. In recognition of this she was made a Bard of Gorsedh Kernow in 2021, a Cornish body similar in inspiration to the Welsh Eisteddfod, which celebrates Cornwall in all its facets. Her election citation said, “For promoting and recording Cornwall’s unique history, culture, identity and landscape through painting.”

It is hardly surprising therefore that her paintings draw on Cornish themes and locations which, in her inimitable style, gives them added spice as she plays with perspective and boldness of colour.

In this new solo collection she has developed her widely recognised landscapes with rolling hills, red soil, contented cows and verdant copses. But she has also placed considerable emphasis on the human interaction and involvement in the settings, even quite spectacularly building in a buxom landlady as part of the landscape! (page 9).

Cornwall is a county of moods and contrasts so it is unsurprising that Jo likes to capture haunting moments of dusk which echo with the landscape’s ancient history and legend. The Wending Way captures this to a T. The reflective and timeless pace of rural life is so well expressed in Unspoken.

The big landscape statements are of course ever present. To me, she appears influenced, perhaps subconsciously,  by the work of earlier acclaimed British artists like the brothers Paul Nash (1889-1946) and John Nash (1893-1977) with their feeling for form in the landscape. Thus a key element in maximising enjoyment of Jo’s work is by close examination of these landscapes and forms.

Music is another source of ideas, for example, On an Overgrown Path was inspired by the piano piece of the same name by Janáček.

As many collectors will verify, Jo‘s paintings are a constant source of pleasure and merit regular exploration.

We hope you enjoy this fine collection.