The event brought together an audience of art students and tutors interested in painting into discussions where thoughts and feelings on contemporary painting and artistic process were expressed freely.

The participating tutors were:

• Habda Rashid, Senior Curator Modern and Contemporary Art, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

• Andrew Pierre Hart, Associate Lecturer, Royal College of Art

Taking inspiration from Swiss painter Nicolas Party’s exhibition in London, participants explored the language of paint and considered how artists engaged with paint not only as a medium, but as a conceptual framework that can challenge and reimagine the conventions of painting through its interplay with other materials and media.

Featuring new treescapes and portraits in pastel, ‘Nicolas Party. Clotho,’ celebrated and challenged longstanding and cherished conventions of representational painting through the artist’s signature style. The portraits in the exhibition were inspired by two sculptural works by Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, and served as a conceptual springboard to frame the group of treescapes on view. Party utilized the symbolism and mythological references present in these sculptures to confront the inevitability of aging and death, two themes that have long been central to his artistic exploration. Known for his unique use of soft pastel, the artist has become a master of the medium, employing the pigment’s versatility, immediacy and saturated color.