High Tones, Low Lines : Art Exhibition Visual Arts

Gallery @ No 56 is excited to welcome artist Michael Sutherland for his first solo exhibition of his original paintings in oil & acrylics.

His work was featured on the lockdown version of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year. Michael's series of portraits of everyday TikTok users - Embracing positivity and diversity - went viral with over 15 million views in 2022. You can follow this series along with his 80K followers via his TikTok page.

'High Tones, Low Lines' represents a milestone for Michael. Having lost touch with painting for many years, he rediscovered his love in 2017, but it wasn't until 2019 when he gave up drinking alcohol that painting came to the fore in his life. His work follows themes of discovery, reconnection and authenticity.

Michael is a painter of people and landscapes. Beyond the subject, any new work is rarely planned and often embraces punchy colours and fragmented forms. Through this free-wheeling and improvisational approach in the early stage,s his pieces evolve and find structure while simultaneously allowing the chaos of the beginnings to peek through.

Michael has a very successful TikTok series that has been viewed by millions all over the world, it catches moments in peoples’ everyday lives through the medium of portraiture. Visitors to Michael’s Exhibition - entitled ‘High Tones, Low Lines’ in Gallery @ No 56 have the chance to join this series by having their portrait painted by Michael and an accompanying video of the painting process posted on social media. All you have to do is, take a selfie in our dedicated photo booth set up in the gallery. The winner will be picked at the end of November.

More details