‘Where the sea meets the sky’, an upcoming solo exhibition by popular, local artist, Sarah Lester.

A group exhibition of Lilford Gallery artists celebrating the gallery’s 25th anniversary in Canterbury. More information coming soon.

We will be welcoming an artist new to the gallery for our new exhibition! Liz Shedden trained in Fashion and Textiles in the 1980’s and her work has always been influenced by texture and pattern. Although her work has evolved over the years from pictorial to a more abstract style, something that has remained constant is colour and how colours react to each other.

LUAP takes his bear on a highly personal expedition. The works include big journeys, short adventures and trips down memory lane. They capture the image of his father cutting the grass, of eating whippy ice creams, which are as gigantic as they felt when he was a child. The watercolours explore the euphoria of riding a horse and the chaotic energy of making your way through the crowd at a busy tube station. They evoke the breeziness of the seaside as the bear eats fish and chips with seagulls flying overhead.

James Bland is an English figurative artist born in Grimsby who now lives and works in Kent. He exhibits frequently in fine art galleries and major art fairs in London. James Bland’s oil paintings are characterised by his depictions of light, unconventional colour harmonies, and storytelling. His inspirations range from dreams, literature, history and cinema.

A solo show of works by Jonathan Stewardson. Jonathan mostly paints in oils, his style has been described as ‘Romantic Realism’. His paintings are attempts to paint a memory, he always paints with emotions. His pictures tend to be lonely, people are rarely seen in them, though there are exceptions, sometimes Jonathan even paints himself in his work. More information on the show will be released soon.

This is the fourth show by Garry Raymond-Pereira at Lilford Gallery, and perhaps his most experimental. It pulls focus onto his usual favoured subjects and locations across the UK, focusing on trees, the sea and windswept dunes. Colour is paramount to these paintings, often vibrant colour, focusing in on wildflower and heather, the bright pinks of a cherry blossom and the verdant green of a summer woodland.  

Join us for this year’s Autumn Show at Lilford Framing & Gallery. The show, which coincides with the Canterbury Festival, will feature a carefully curated selection of contemporary art across many disciplines. Every summer we put out an open call to all local artists and those from further afield. Our team meticulously examines over 300 hundred applications each year to bring you the very best selection of beautiful, expressive, diverse and affordable works of art.

On the 15th of October 1924 André Breton baptised a new mode of pure expression, one based on the resolution between dreams and reality into an absolute reality - a surreality.  Lilford Gallery is bringing Surrealism to Canterbury with a special exhibition of works by some of the most well-known surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Lee Miller, Graham Sutherland, Dorothea Tanning and more.

Huddie Hamper is a rapidly rising star in the art world with his colourful and expressive paintings. An artist and musician hailing from Medway, he graduated with his BFA from Slade School of Fine Art in 2021 where he developed his unique and distinctive style of painting with thick, wavy brushstrokes that imitate movement. We are excited to welcome Huddie Hamper back to Lilford Gallery for a solo show in August.

Etched in the memory, Cornwall’s vast tapestry of land and seascapes are woven into the very fabric of Sarah’s life. What Lies Beneath isn’t just a literal reflection, but also what lies deep within her. She has sold domestically and internationally in a career spanning three decades; Sarah’s often explosive style sets her apart from many of her contemporaries.

Thirsty Bstrd is a French visual artist from Paris, using spray paint, stencils, stickers and videos. His work mainly consists in making satirical comments about society, politics and consumerism through pop-culture references and a quirky and subversive sense of humour. Lilford Gallery is excited to welcome Thirsty Bstrd back for a solo show this June!

We are excited to announce our upcoming exhibition with local artist and oil painter Adam De Ville. Lilford Gallery was one of the first galleries to exhibit Adam’s work and we are thrilled to have Adam for a solo show of his paintings. Adam explores themes of displacement and belonging - storytelling is an essential part of his work.

Lilford Gallery is thrilled to announce our first exhibition of the year with paintings by local abstract artist Elizabeth Akehurst. The theme of memory persists in this new exhibition, as well as the delicate and careful observation of life.

Lilford Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition of works by oil painter James Bland. James Bland (NEAC) is a figurative artist who lives and works in Kent. James incorporates diverse approaches to style and subject but starts by drawing from life. His aim is to find an image that resonates through simplicity of colour and form. James is a member of the New English Art Club and Contemporary British Portrait Painters.

Carne Griffiths has exhibited in the UK at the London Original Print Fair at the Royal Academy, the London Art Fair, and overseas. We are proud to present his works at Lilford Gallery during the Canterbury Festival.

Working primarily with calligraphy inks, graphite and liquids, such as tea, brandy and vodka, his fascination with drawing focuses on the creation and manipulation of the drawn line. Works explore human, geometric and floral forms, in a combination of both literal and abstract translation and in response to images and situations encountered in daily life.

Having exhibited to great acclaim across his home country of Nigeria, the US and the UK, Oliver Enwonwu’s upcoming show at Lilford Framing Gallery Pop Up is causing great excitement!

Oliver Enwonwu’s art interrogates the complex layers of history between the African continent and the West. Through portraiture, Enwonwu addresses the near absence of Black figures in Western accounts of art history. Co-opting the visual language and painting techniques of the Old Masters, Enwonwu imbues his figures with an air of power, regality, and pride, attempting to make up for an absence of such portraits within the Western canon.

 Enwonwu will be exhibiting selected works at Lilford Gallery from the 4th to the 9th of October.

This is a FREE admission event.

Meet the artist!

Ann Bridges has curated her traveling show ‘The Queue’ focussing on childhood nostalgia and curiosities.

View a lovely selection of original drawings, and watch her work.

We are excited to announce our upcoming show of David Hockney Prints, open from June 9th to 23rd!