Capturing The Summer Spirit

With unpredictable weather and restrictions on travel still in place, summer this year has seemingly got off to a slow start…and yet, with word of a heatwave on the horizon, we can’t help but channel the spirit of the season by looking at the artists whose artworks capture the essence of summer.

Dawn Okoro The Three Graces Acrylic on Canvas

Jeff Koons Gazing Ball (van Gogh Wheatfield with Cypresses) Archival Pigment Print on Innova Rag Paper, Glass

DAWN OKORO

Born in Houston, Texas, Dawn Okoro creates bold and vibrant artworks that channel her Nigerian heritage and a sense of displacement from her homeland. Okoro’s work utilises colour, movement and texture to highlight the multi-faceted nature of the human spirit with a vivid palette and dynamic compositions that unite to evoke an ecstatic vibrancy that reverberates throughout her canvases. Okoro’s command of colour is second to none and her expressive and energetic figures radiate the freedom of summer.

Terry O'Neill Audrey Hepburn Plays Cricket, South of France Lifetime Gelatin Silver Print *available in other mediums & editions

Terry O'Neill Faye Dunaway, Beverly Hills Hotel Posthumous C-Type Print *available in other mediums & editions

TERRY O'NEILL

British photographer Terry O’Neill is known for his distinctive candid shots of celebrities, ranging from Hollywood starlets like Audrey Hepburn to musical talents like Frank Sinatra. Unlike other celebrity photographers, O’Neill is renowned for taking natural and intimate portraits that are often unposed. The photographers signature style often saw him take iconic images of celebrities in their down time, which led O’Neill to take classic photographs that documented his subjects on their holidays or relaxing on set.

One of his most celebrated photographs in this style is his depiction of Frank Sinatra on the Miami Boardwalk. Taken in a chance encounter on the boardwalk of Miami’s Fontainebleau Hotel, O’Neill snapped the sharply attired singer as he strolled with purpose on that hot summer’s day, with body double and associates in tow. The mob-handed star then approached O’Neill, who was at this point a total stranger. Dutifully producing a letter from Ava Gardner, Sinatra’s ex-wife, O’Neill waited nervously as the intimidating singer read the letter, laughed, and exclaimed to his friends, ‘he’s with me!’ In that moment, a friendship for life was formed. The candid snapshot, taken moments before this interaction, exudes the spirit of summer – a moment of stillness and wonder in the oppressive Miami heat.

Dan Baldwin Study for Fragmented Landscape Pure Pigment and Acrylic on Hand Made Watercolour Paper

Dan Baldwin Study for Fragmented Landscape Pure Pigment with Acrylic on Handmade Watercolour Paper

DAN BALDWIN

Known for his vibrant style that mixed the abstract with the figurative, Baldwin is one of the leading figures in the prestigious Young British Artist movement. Baldwin’s canvases champion colour, as well as exploring the harmony between composition and form. The themes of his work have continually shifted throughout his career, with his most recent body of work, Fragmented Landscapes, being an in-depth mediation on the vibrancy and joy of colour. Perfectly encapsulating the palette of summer, his patchwork landscapes are as fun as they are vivid.