Barnaby Hosking

'In Praise of Shadows' traces Barnaby Hosking's artistic journey, starting from his residency at Houghton Hall in June 2013, where he lived in a Mongolian yurt amidst the picturesque landscape, adopting the role of an "Ornamental Hermit." Since then, Hosking has drawn inspiration from this immersive experience, producing a diverse body of work spanning painting, sculpture, sound, and more recently, bleached velvet. Hosking's practice often involves solitary art-making expeditions, which allow for deep introspection and a profound connection with his surroundings. He utilizes velvet as a medium to convey intimacy, blending photographic imagery with tactile sensations to evoke memories. By bleaching imagery into the velvet, Hosking captures the clarity and depth of his experiences, presenting large abstract developments of this technique in this exhibition, marking the culmination of his residency at Houghton Hall.