Updated: Aug 19, 2025
23rd March 2023 Towner Eastbourne
Devonshire Park, College Road
Eastbourne BN21 4JJ
Roger's Introduction to the Talk It seemed such an easy task to choose just eight paintings for this talk. Eight paintings I would like to get up close and personal with, experiencing things not possible when looking at a print or digital reproduction, however good.
Just paintings. No need to think about sculpture, textiles, prints, or ceramics, so that makes life a lot simpler. Then difficulties began to surface in my mind. Should my selection be worldwide? What period…there are beautiful paintings from the 1400s that I’d love to meet for real. I’ve seen many modern masterpieces giving me that special visceral feeling, but there are still countless others. Should any of these be on my list?
Finally, my idea emerged. I would like to share with you my desire to meet eight paintings by 20th/21st-century artists some of whom you may know, others possibly not. All hold an intrinsic interest for me and I’ll be explaining why. Some I could have already met in the past, usually in private galleries, if only I had known at the time.
Roger Adams regards himself as a painter who places the figure at the heart of his practice. His images are loose and simple using paint to show how a person’s body responds to its feelings and thoughts and focusing on the fact that expression and emotion can be captured through pose. He is not interested in the realistic detail of a person’s exterior and there are few if any facial features.
Thank you to Roger for introducing us to his wish list of 8 (or more!) paintings he’d like to meet. We all came away with more knowledge than we arrived with and the need to get home and google for more! If you would like to see the eight paintings discussed during the talk, see the slideshow film below. The final eight paintings chosen for the talk, start at the slide by Ilse D’Hollander 'Untitled' 1996 (Detail) and end with Alberto Burri's work 'Sack 3' (1953 Oil on canvas 54 x 40 in).
