Fred Sorrell

Sorrell’s work constitutes an open-ended enquiry into the nature of perception. His position is that an abstract painting can be autonomous – an image that exists in purely visual terms - but that it can also communicate something of its inspiration. He describes the dynamic space between visceral bodily sensation and fleeting visual impressions as the starting point for his work. Physical and sensory experiences are rendered into pictorial structures that then serve as a launch pad from which a new image can emerge. Importantly, the paintings also address the temporal or ephemeral nature of these visual/visceral experiences. Just as the observation of visual phenomena in nature unfolds over time, rather than being fixed in a single instant (as in a photograph) Sorrell’s paintings are carefully calibrated to reward extended viewing.Many of his works are rooted in the experience of landscape, light and nature, as suggested by titles such as Coast (2022), Orchard (2022) and Standing Meditation (2024). 

Sorrell studied at Falmouth College University (2004-8). Recent solo exhibitions include Parafin, London (2022, 2020) and Between Sea and Sky, Saturation Point, London (2019). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions including Landscapes of Time and Memory, Fred Levine, Bruton (2925), Expanding Landscapes: Painting After Land Art, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal (2025) and Hestercombe House & Gallery (2024), Royal Standard, Liverpool, and Cob Gallery, London. He has undertaken residencies at The Banff Centre, The Florence Trust, London, Takt, Berlin and Kerel de Grote Hogeschool, Antwerp.