Michael Praed | A Retrospective Exhibition

12th April 2024 - 11th May 2024

Preview: Friday 12th April 17:30 onwards, all welcome!

A solo exhibition of paintings by Michael Praed.

Michael Praed is one of the most well-known contemporary artists working in Cornwall. He is a prolific painter, working mainly in oils and pastels, drawing inspiration from the Cornish countryside and people. Strongly graphical, his paintings of the coastline, cliff formations, harbour walls and fishermen with their nets are instantly recognisable. It has been said that his work is an intriguing combination of realism and abstraction, portraying the beauty of the landscape and seascape with a sense of unease in a way that no other artist has achieved: farmsteads huddle together against an unseen enemy in a landscape devoid of living things; deserted breakwaters curve pincer-like into an empty sea; engine houses rise from the ground like megaliths, as old as time.

Born in 1941 from a long line of Mousehole luggermen, Michael Praed was educated at Penzance and Falmouth School of Art followed by Brighton College of Art. In 1967 he became a member of the Newlyn Society of Artist, and has been a member of the Penwith Society of Artists since 1972. He has exhibited widely, retiring from teaching in 1993 to paint full time. His work ranges from large paintings of the sea and landscape to smaller images depicting familiar scenes of Cornishmen at work; from lonely beaches to the bustle of a fish market, but always illustrating his observational and technical skills as both a painter and draughtsman to marvellous effect.

Michael’s upcoming exhibition at the Penwith Gallery spans his entire professional career, with works from as early as 1970 up to the present day. This is an unmissable opportunity to be fully immersed in his artistic landscape.