The introduction of figures in Kate Sherman’s work is a new development. Talking about the new work Kate said: “I think maybe it’s growing older, spending more time looking back and finding ways of connecting with the past.  I'm drawn to certain figures in photographs that have some ambiguity about them, they are often familiar to me (because of family connection) and they have a poetic quality about them that sits somewhere between dreamlike and reality.  The figures I paint tend to be quite realistic, while the rest of the painting is often more loosely worked, departing from the original photo, and sometimes with the background altered or reimagined. The source photo for ‘Night Garden’ for example, was a bright sunlit scene, but it becomes more ambiguous and poignant with the figure spotlit against a dark inky background, one part photo-real, the other drippy and gestural. With all my work, I think the abstract or material values are what holds the paintings together - the tones, colours, shapes; I ask myself, does it work if I half-close my eyes? I’m looking to create a tension between surface and image, abstraction and realism but I’m also aiming to make works that resonate in an emotional way, allowing space for a narrative, and hopefully enabling connection with the viewer."