Summer lunch at the kitchen table. A cooked lobster, scarlet against a blue-rimmed plate, sits at the centre of a sunlit table beside two lemons, with a red-and-white gingham cloth folded across the lower right. Two jugs of white daisies stand behind, one plain and one patterned, while the window beyond opens onto green foliage, flooding the scene with daylight that bounces across the white tabletop. For Ollie, the painting began with a very particular idea of summer. “An unapologetically summery still life, inspired by Hamptons and Nantucket crab-boil feasts and summer BBQs; that outdoor, gingham kind of gathering, but reimagined here as a still life.” That sense of conviviality remains even in the absence of people; the table feels newly laid, as though everyone has only just stepped away.

Gladwell & Patterson are delighted to present their first solo exhibition with Ollie, Small Pleasures. Bringing together paintings made across the past twelve months, the collection moves from pocket-sized works to abundant still lifes, cosy interiors and observations of the natural world. What connects them is Ollie’s habit of looking closely at everyday life, and the pleasure she takes in the ordinary things around her.