Mary Mabbutt

Mary Mabbutt
21st May - 5th June

The following piece of writing is by Antje Southern, an art
historian who studied at University College London and the
Warburg Institute. She currently teaches contextual art history
studies at the Royal Drawing School, London.
Mary Mabbutt’s work speaks of joy and contentment, taking
pleasure in the simple things of life which are the real ones
after all. The current Kitchen Table series began with making
marmalade on a dull January day intended to preserve a momentary
stillness. In Blue Table, dishes and utensils are carefully set out
to give primacy to colour. Yellow ochre, cobalt blue and venetian
red pigments are juxtaposed, broken up, blended and build
into tones that sit next to each other across flattened surfaces. A
considered mix and nearness of yellows and blues effervesces
particularly in the bellied jug with a zinging blue square in the
middle. Neighbouring reds and blues fuse into purples that vibrate
with the lighter blues to cause further incidents. Light from the
top defines the handles and edges of the vessels as well as the
contours of a sinuous figure on tip toes emanating a lightness
of being. Rounded shapes re-occur and become a metaphor for
a rounded and full life. What happens on the kitchen table is
ultimately built by memory and sensation but underpinned by a
multitude of small observational studies that carefully investigate
each shape before it transitions into paint. In Carrot Soup a quiet
hum of colours entice a process of slow looking. A jar with pointed
utensils reminiscent of fingers, marigold gloves painted in skin
pink and a pair of red ankle boots introduce a physical aspect.

Portrait with Fritillaries 2021 / oil on board / 41 x 31cm £1200

Pancake Day 2012 / oil on canvas / 122 x 122cm* £4250

Dinner Party 2011 / oil on canvas / 120 x 120cm* £4250

Red Table 2009 / oil on canvas / 122 x 98cm* £4000

Self Portrait Holding Black Paint Rag 2021 / oil on canvas / 60 x 47cm* £1500

Portrait with Grasses I / oil on board / 33 x 33cm SOLD

Blue Table 2014 / oil on canvas / 106 x 106cm* £3750

Martha’s Rug 2019 / oil on canvas / 110 x 89cm* £3750

Watermelons 2016 / oil on canvas / 122 x 98cm* £4000

Pancakes Again 2022 / oil on canvas / 46 x 46cm SOLD

A Comfortable Chair 2015 / oil on canvas / 102 x 102cm* £3750.

Study for Dinner Party 2015 / oil on canvas / 60 x 60cm* £1600

Making Pancakes / oil on canvas / 30 x 30cm SOLD

Cabinet II 2022 / oil on canvas / 40 x 33cm £1200

Composition with Grasses 2021 / oil on canvas / 76 x 64cm* £1750

Carrot Soup 2013 / oil on canvas / 122 x 98cm* £4000

Show in Miniature 2021 / oil on board / 42 x 36cm SOLD

Mary Mabbutt
My paintings emerge from the apparently ordinary world of everyday surroundings, the spaces
and places of my life particular qualities of my lived experience. In Marco Livingstone’s book,
The Alchemy of Images, the artist Jim Dine says,
‘I am interested in personal images, in making paintings about my studio, my experience as a painter,
about painting itself, about colour charts, the palette…
…to me, autobiography is the most fascinating thing you can do because you get in touch with the human
condition, and in the end, what else is there?’
My series of kitchen table paintings began with small observational studies.
I looked at the space, recording qualities of light, volume and depth, however I became
progressively more interested in colour relationships. The large paintings I am showing at The
Table were developed focusing on different colour palettes, flattening shapes and developing
surfaces by both underpainting and then overpainting with flickering brush marks. For example,
Red Table which was the first in the series uses different reds and opposing subdued colours
of grey and green. Pancake Day balances neutral greys and subdued earth ochres against the
intensity of cold and warm yellows. I had always hoped to show these paintings together as series
of closely related works.
The Table has now presented me the opportunity to show these paintings as a group and I very
grateful to Val Harris for all her support and encouragement in the organisation and planning of
this exhibition.
Mary Mabbutt in her studio

Mary Mabbutt
Curriculum Vitae (Summary)
1971-1974 Loughborough College of Art and Design (Dip AD in Fine Art)
1975-1978 Royal Academy Schools (Post Graduate Certificate)
1978-1979 Junior Fellow in Painting, South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education
1979-2011 Tutor in BA Fine Art, University College Falmouth
2005-2020 Colour Consultant to BA Textiles, University College Falmouth
Visiting lecturer to a number of Fine Art courses in England /Wales
Prizes and Awards
1980 Ellingham Mill/ Sealink Open Exhibition
1984 TSWA National Open Art Exhibition
1995 John Moores Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery
2002 South West Arts, Major Award (Visual Arts)
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1980/98 New Grafton Gallery, London
1984 Plymouth Arts Centre, Spacex Gallery, Exeter
1985/89 Paton Gallery, London
1992/95 Paton Gallery, London
1995 Plymouth Arts Centre
2001 New Grafton Gallery, London
2003 Newlyn Art Gallery, Penzance
2006 Artist of the Day, Flowers Central
2007 Russell Gallery, London
2010 Belgrave Gallery, St Ives
2013 The Art Room Topsham, Exeter
2014 Russell Gallery, London
2015 Beside The Wave, Falmouth
2018 Martin Tinney Gallery, Cardiff
Selected Mixed Exhibitions include
John Player Portrait Award; TSWA National Open Art; ‘Room at the Top’, curated by
Waldemar Janusczak; The New British Painting, Contemporary Arts Centre, Cincinnati;
John Moores Liverpool Exhibition; The Hunting Art Prizes; Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries;
In the Looking Glass, Contemporary Self-Portraits by Women Artists Short Stories, The Cut
Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Arts Council, London
Coopers and Lybrand
Unilever
Usher Gallery, Lincoln
Bankers’ Trust
Pentland Industries
Slaughter and May
Robert and Susan Summer, New York
Ruth Borchard Self Portrait Collection
Various private collections in the U.K, Europe and U.S.A.

To purchase work please contact Val Harris at art@thetablehay.com or 07956 452195
The gallery offers Collectorplan, an initiative administered by the Welsh Assembly,
enabling you to purchase work up to the value of £5,000 with an interest free loan repayable
over a year.
All measurements are for framed sizes unless marked * where the paintings are unframed.
The gallery is open Thursday - Saturday 10am - 3pm or by appointment during exhibitions.
All paintings are for sale upon receipt of this catalogue.