Biography

Arabella Ross is a British painter and Ceramicist working in Hampshire, UK.  She has exhibited in London, Oxford and India.  Her very recent and successful exhibition was held at Blenheim Palace, 22-2023.  Ross’s work is found in private collections in London, UK, Europe, North America and Australia.  Born 1959 she was brought up with the teachings of the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti (1896-1986.)  

In the early part of her career, Ross won a three-month scholarship for artist in residence, funded by the British High Commission in Kolkata, to live and work with twelve Indian artists in an Artist’s village.  Ross has completed a BA Hons in painting and a master’s degree in fine art at Chelsea college of Art.  She was taught by Ken Kiff, Christopher LeBrun and Trevor Sutton.  

Ross’s is a vibrant, visceral language that emerges through vivid, joyful and spontaneous paint application.  Ross’s concepts and inspiration derive from process, observation and her imagination. The context of the work is about memories and the ability to draw automatically and freely on images from the psyche that resonate enigmatically.

Recurring themes within the paintings: women, lush tropical landscape, historical, industrial and abandoned architecture, sugar cane factories of a bygone era, in a hot climate and environment of decay, and the implicit social and cultural changes for women spanning many centuries. The empowering of women; social, educational, economic, political and psychological is hugely important.  Ross’s response to her surroundings and the richness of the world is deeply intuitive. Her oil paintings are poetic metaphors with complex meaning.

Phyllis – Deserted Colonial Building. 120 x 150cm. Oil on linen – 2023

Artist’s Statement: The themes within the tropical paintings speak of bygone and abandoned industrialisation, of historical and architectural structures that remain standing amongst the overgrown and organic forces of nature. Hinted at are elements of deterioration, decay and social change with the cultures that have since been displaced from slavery to the modern day. It is through unique encounters with individuals while on my travels that have inspired a new series of oil paintings on linen of women within a landscape.

For a full CV and details of previous exhibitions please click here