Opening 23rd April and continuing through 24th May 2026, our Abstract Exhibition celebrates art that exists beyond representational boundaries. In an age where so much visual culture is literal and immediately readable, abstract art offers something different: an invitation to experience art through intuition, emotion, and personal interpretation rather than narrative or recognition.
This exhibition brings together artists who explore form, colour, texture, and gesture as subjects in themselves. Rather than depicting the world, they create autonomous visual experiences that transform how we see, feel, and understand the possibilities of painting and mixed media.
Sally Burch’s work anchors the exhibition with her exploration of natural transitions – the shift from night to day, sea to sky, the experience of moving through landscape. Pieces like ‘Transitioning: Sea to Sky’, ‘Transitioning Night to Day’, ‘Nightfall’, and ‘Follow the Sun’ distil these experiences into colour, texture, and layered mark-making without resorting to literal representation.
Burch’s mixed media approach combines paint with other materials to create surfaces that reward close examination. Her work demonstrates how abstraction can evoke specific experiences and moods without depicting them directly. The viewer brings their own memories of dawn, dusk, or coastal horizons to the work, creating a dialogue between the artist’s intentions and the viewer’s experiences.
Works like ‘Up Hill’ show Burch’s sensitivity to how colour and composition can suggest physical sensations – the effort of ascent, the changing perspective as altitude increases – without illustrating the experience literally. This is abstraction at its most evocative: specific enough to anchor emotional response, open enough to allow personal interpretation.
Chris Wood brings three-dimensional abstraction to the exhibition with ‘Hive’, a substantial mixed media sculpture that explores form, structure, and spatial relationships. Wood’s practice demonstrates how abstraction operates in three dimensions, creating objects that exist as autonomous presences rather than representations of other things.
‘Hive’ invites viewers to move around it, discovering how form and shadow shift with changing perspectives. This physical engagement with abstract sculpture creates a different kind of experience from two-dimensional work – more bodily, more spatial, more aware of how we occupy and move through space alongside art objects.
In our current visual landscape dominated by photography, digital imagery, and representational media, abstract art offers a necessary counterpoint. It asks us to slow down, to look without immediately naming or categorising what we see, to allow ambiguity and openness rather than rushing to conclusions.
Abstract art also celebrates the intrinsic properties of materials and processes. The way paint behaves, how colours interact, what happens when different materials meet on a surface – these become subjects worthy of sustained attention rather than mere means to representational ends. For viewers willing to engage on these terms, abstract art offers deeply rewarding experiences that evolve over time and repeated viewings.
One of the pleasures of living with abstract work is how it changes with shifting light, moods, and life circumstances. Without fixed narratives or specific subjects, abstract pieces reveal new aspects depending on when and how you look at them. A painting that feels calm and contemplative one day might appear vibrant and energetic the next, responding to your changing state of mind.
This exhibition offers works at various scales and price points, from more intimate pieces to substantial statement works. Whether you’re new to abstract art or an established collector, we invite you to visit Byard Art between 23rd April and 24th May to experience these works in person. Abstract art resists reproduction – you need to see the actual surfaces, the physical presence of the work, to fully appreciate what these artists have created.
The Abstract Exhibition continues our spring season of diverse contemporary art presentations, following ‘The Story of Art’ (19 March – 19 April) and our participation in the Affordable Art Fair New York. Each exhibition demonstrates different facets of contemporary practice, offering our audience varied entry points into collecting and engaging with art.
Join us at 14 King’s Parade, Cambridge, from 23rd April through 24th May to discover how Sally Burch and Chris Wood transform intuition, emotion, and material process into compelling abstract art. Our team is always available to discuss the works, arrange viewings, or provide information about our Own Art scheme for interest-free purchasing.
Join the Team at Byard Art Byard Art is delighted to offer an opportunity to
Opening 28th May and continuing through 28th June 2026, The Cambridge Exhibition represents something deeply
Opening 23rd April and continuing through 24th May 2026, our Abstract Exhibition celebrates art that
From the 19th of March through to the 19th of April 2026, ‘The Story of
