In this exhibition of paintings and drawings, Chris Denovan explores the variable symbolism of plants. His motifs of leaves and flowers find an unlikely pairing in those of hands and feet and disembodied limbs. Here, body parts become plants, the expected brushes up against the strange, the recognisable leans towards the unfamiliar.

In Denovan’s paintings, detailed figuration is set against abstract fields of colour. Muted greys and greens are punctuated by a brilliant red common to all his canvases. Working between such saturated colour and muddied hues, Denovan creates rich, textural surfaces. There are moments of impasto paint and transparent veiling, gestural brushmarks and bold geometric forms. There is to his work a distinct pleasure in process – the artist working quickly and intuitively from photographs, both taken and found, to create his vivid compositions. 

Denovan’s work pays homage to history painting and Symbolism, and to a classical idealisation of…