My Local, at 99 Projects gallery brings eight artists from North West London together in an eclectic show of painting – figurative and abstract, still life and landscape.

 (Full disclosure – It really is MY Local; I am one of the artists lucky enough to be included in the line up).

Simone Russell’s painterly neon abstracts are first to greet you as you walk in, elegantly glowing in their frames. These two works are in stark contrast with her brooding landscapes included in the show, which manage to be dark yet inviting simultaneously.

 Eugene Ankomahs diminutive paintings pack a hell of a punch, their saturated, jubilant busyness gently throbbing on the wall.

Pink Trees by Sarah Neale is sublime. There is so much to feast on visually in the array of mark making and surface disruption in her work in this exhibition. There is a drama to this work which sits beautifully with that of Tammy Ward next to it. Ward’s brilliant use of space within her floral still life works gives her work a meditative calm with a powerful economy of brush stroke.

 When you look at Ed Laurie’s intriguing and tonally arresting paintings, you can’t help building up a narrative about the subjects in the work, as is the case with that of John Clare’s paintings which have a lyrical joie de vivre.

Christos Tsimaris’ muscular, painterly portrait heads reveal more to the viewer on every inspection and are having an interesting conversation with my ethereal, fragile statue heads further along the wall.

 My Local is a rich celebration of local painting at 99 projects.

Exhibition dates: 27 th January – 18 th February 2023