Press Release

Offer Waterman is delighted to announce Mornings at the Lido, an exhibition of new works by acclaimed artist Tarka Kings. In her third solo exhibition at the gallery, Kings explores the daily ritual of outdoor swimming at the Serpentine in London, a place of tranquillity in the heart of the city. Celebrated for her masterful handling of graphite and coloured pencil, a process she has used almost exclusively since 2008, these drawings on paper and panel capture Kings’ close and contemplative observation of the human figure and landscape.

Kings’ relationship with water, and its dynamic within the city of London, is an integral part of her work. Not only does she herself swim in the Serpentine almost every day, but her new studio is based on the River Thames. In preparation for the exhibition, Kings has worked closely with a model, drawing from photographs and life to create works that capture the most intimate and personal aspects of wild swimming.

Kings constructs images through the application of hundreds of tiny drawn marks, with complex new colours emerging from the interaction of colours placed side by side or layered one over the other. Imbued with subtlety through her unrivalled draughtsmanship and true mastery of her chosen medium, these drawings convey an intimate sense of time and place. Unashamedly beautiful, Kings’ images demonstrate an unrivalled understanding of colour and light, informed by the work of Georges Seurat, Gerhard Richter and Ed Ruscha.

A graduate of the Royal Academy Schools, Kings has been exhibited internationally and completed numerous commissions for private collectors and public spaces including Chatsworth House, Maggie’s Centre in Glasgow, and, most recently, the newly opened San Vicente in New York for interior designer Rose Uniacke.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, with a text by art writer Lily Le Brun, author of the book Looking to Sea: What Coastal Art tells us About Modern Britain.

Rees & Co, London

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About the Gallery
Offer Waterman opened his first gallery in Chelsea, London in 1996. Now based in a five-storey Georgian townhouse in Mayfair, the gallery has developed an international following for its exceptional 20th Century and Contemporary art. Previously the historic William Morris & Co showroom, the gallery at 17 St. George Street provides a relaxed and understated exhibition space across three floors, with a library and research centre on the fifth.

The gallery’s experienced and approachable team are dedicated to helping collectors, at all levels, develop remarkable and individual art collections. Offer Waterman is known for its historical exhibitions including, Frank Auerbach, Early Works (2012), David Hockney, Early Drawings (2015), Robert Rauschenberg: Transfer Drawings from the 1960s and 1970s (2016) and William Turnbull, Centenary Exhibition (2022). In 2023 we collaborated with fashion designer Jonathan Anderson on the exhibition On Foot, which placed 20th century British art in dialogue with Anderson’s own designs and works by contemporary artists and makers. Most recently, in the autumn of 2024, Frank Auerbach: Portraits of London, produced in collaboration with Francis Outred, presented 25 major landscapes from private and museum collections and attracted more than 5,000 visitors.

Offer Waterman is an established benefactor of museums and arts organisations and the gallery has supported numerous museum exhibitions including the Tate’s most recent David Hockney retrospective (2017); the Royal Academy of Arts exhibitions Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits (2019) and David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, (2020) and Barbara Hepworth: Art and Life at the Hepworth Wakefield (2021-22). In 2023, the gallery sponsored exhibitions by two leading female artists - the beautifully curated Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge and the equally compelling Gwen John: Art and Life in Paris and London at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.
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17 St George Street
London
United Kingdom
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Friday, 11am–5pm
Saturday 11am–4pm

The show will be closed for the holidays on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.
(1)
London 17 St George Street
Offer Waterman
17 St George Street, London, United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7042 3233
https://www.waterman.co.uk/

Opening hours
Tuesday – Friday, 11am–5pm
Saturday 11am–4pm

The show will be closed for the holidays on Good Friday and Easter Saturday.
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