ARTS INTRO Portrait of a lady at Beaux Arts

THE ARTS

SN A P SH OT S O F BAT H ’S CU LT U R A L L I FE

WHAT LIES BENEATH

Can we ever really know anybody? It’s the question Jennifer Anderson’s ‘sensitive, haunting’ portraits seem to ask, according to art critic and historian Bunny Smedley.

It’s true that there is a certain reserve to the women populating Anderson’s work – they mostly gaze down or into the distance towards what we can¼t Snow. <he portraits vara from ,ignita pictured · confi dent self assured claiming her space · to fi gures pensive unsure some onla mere glimpses through a fading light.

There is space for imagination here – as the viewer you really can’t help but create a story for each portrait. The striking and minimal works forge a connection between viewer and subject, which results, the artist writes, in a collection of work concerned with ‘the emotional experience of one person looking at another.’

Jennifer Anderson’s work can be seen at Beaux Arts Bath, 12-13 York St, Bath, until 3 October; www.beauxartsbath.co.uk