Saffron Newey

Saffron Newey's interdisciplinary practice spans painting, drawing, and digital media. Her work interrogates the impact of the Internet on the original art object and its historical legacies. Newey’s practice navigates five centuries of Western art history, drawing from the traditions of sublime landscape painting.

Says Newey of her practice, "I am fascinated by the miscellaneous structure of the Internet – how historical artworks have become disconnected from timelines, movements and makers. For example, a coveted 'masterpiece' can easily appear in the same search results as fantasy art, AI, and stock imagery. This flattening of history, hierarchy and provenance is summoned in my paintings, which homage and critique all of the above pictorial genres.

"My paintings are planned to a certain point, as handmade and digitally collaged references. As narratives begin to emerge in the work, the painting is often adjusted, figures are added, sections are wiped out. The anticipation that comes with this changeable methodology is just like an Internet search – a labyrinth of possibility."