Jo Hummel: Somewhere Here, But Far Away: 45 Park Lane, London

The endless horizon which exists in Jo Hummel’s paintings is a reminder of what we long for, but rarely achieve, the place we have been trying to get to all our lives.

Taken from her life living on an island, this ongoing motif orientates us towards our intended destination. With their suggestion of windows, doorways and portals the resultant paintings guide us beyond the frame of our busy conscious minds. They elicit in us an ache, or a longing. They tell us that what we have always been searching for is somewhere here, but far away.

Jo Hummel's work is characterised by a painted and paper collaged surface on which she employs spontaneous variations of space, colour and form. The nature of collage is that each work is in constant flux.The artist must negotiate the canvas by rearranging, choosing and adjusting, often over long periods of time.

Speaking about the making of the work, Hummel describes her chosen material (paper) as domestic and ephemeral. An everyday surface which is manipulated with urgency using household tools such as scissors and knives. Her paintings are built up in layers and with joinery, often revealing fault lines, accidents and scars.