Wykeham Gallery 2 artists catalogue May 2026

THE WYKEHAM GALLERY

16th – 30th May 2026

THE WYKEHAM GALLERY

Peter Kettle | Karl Martens

16th – 30th May 2026

OPENING DRINKS | Saturday 16th May | 12 – 2pm

Monday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm

All work can be viewed on our website under Exhibitions/Forthcoming. All work is for sale immediately.

High Street | Stockbridge | Hampshire | SO20 6HE 01264 810364 enquiries@wykehamgallery.co.uk www.wykehamgallery.co.uk

PETER KETTLE FRSA, RCA

Peter Kettle, born in 1987, creates oil and mixed media paintings by immersing himself in landscape. He considers himself as a documentarian and expressive landscape artist. He is fascinated by the exploration of pilgrimage traditions around sacred mountain landscapes worldwide, combining expedition-based research with painting and documentary work: “Through these projects, I collaborate with filmmaker Alex Green, local guides, and community organisations, documenting each journey through sketches, film, and fieldwork”.

Each year, Peter takes on planned journeys around his native Wales and remote regions of the world. His previous expeditions have led him on a personal journey across the desert plains of Patagonia and to the Andean Foothills to retrace the steps of the Welsh Settlers. Peter’s following project embarked on a physically challenging environmental expedition hiking to Everest Basecamp. In 2023, he spent 3 weeks painting across Japan, hiking ancient pilgrimages in Hokkaido and to the summit of Mt.Fuji. With each project he aims to celebrate the local stories, people and landscape through paintings, collage and documentary film. In March of this year he travelled to Kenya where he ascended Mount Kenya to Point Lenana. He then carried out fieldwork across Amboseli National Park and Mlango Farm on sustainable agriculture and Maasai land stewardship in the Kilimanjaro region. This new work is being exhibited at the Wykeham Gallery i n May 2026.

Where a story captivates Peter, he will record elements and nuances of the space to rework into ambitiously scaled and expressive paintings using paint and other media poured, rubbed and splashed onto the canvas. Having worked exclusively in oils, his technique has broadened to incorporate the use of collage, inks and shellac. His paintings give the impression of well-worn exterior walls, buffeted and corroded over time. The effect is a characterful, well weathered surface, stony and granular that is at the same time luminous with dramatic light.

Peter Kettle

Dusk Along The Nithi - Kenya

Oil and mixed media on linen · 31 x 24 in.

Peter started his career in Wales and now lives and works in Bristol. He was voted in as an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and the Royal Cambrian Academy (RCA). He has featured on the BBC News and published in The Guardian and Money Week as ‘One to Watch’. His work is held in private collections int ernationally.

KARL MARTENS

Karl Martens was born in San Francisco in 1956 but grew up near Drottningholm, on the outskirts of Stockholm. Karl then lived in both Switzerland and Canada before returning to his place of birth, San Francisco. Finally, after an absence of 24 years, he returned to Sweden at the age of 40 and continues to reside there.

The study of nature, with a particular passion for birds, has been Karl’s main interest since childhood. Having initially painted very exact, detailed pictures, he has more recently developed a freer and more fluid sty le.

Karl is influenced by both Western and Eastern philosophies and he is very interested in the forms of meditation found in Zen Buddhism. This discipline is clearly reflected in the approach to his painting - “The best result is achieved when no thought is given to it; when the mind rests in emptiness and intuition takes over”. Karl is also a very keen and successful practitioner of Japanese archery and he travels the world in his pursuit of excellence.

In his painting, Karl strives to capture the emotional essence of the subject rather than seeking a perfect depiction. In so doing he challenges his own perceptions and allows the image to develop. He paints from memory using watercolour and charcoal on hand-made paper.

Karl’s work is held in collections around the world.

Karl Martens

Robin Watercolour · 12 x 10 in.

“In Japanese calligraphy one tries to create harmony between thick and thin brush strokes in the characters, looking for an anchor point from which other strokes emanate. The result is a fluidity of shapes reminiscent of shapes in nature. Trying to capture these forms in my work turned out to be a good exercise in calligraphy as well as painting. Not all paintings in this show are of flying birds but just as in calligraphically brushed text, the fluid motions are enhanced by the sudden appearance of a static character here and there.”

Peter Kettle

Along the Nithi, Eastern SlopesMugi Hill Glowing Red, Mount Kenya Oil and mixed media on linen · 31 x 24 in.

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Karl Martens

· 61 x 37 in.

Peter Kettle

Kilimanjaro, Stewards of the Savannah Oil and mixed media on linen

47 x 59 in.

Peter Kettle

The River Turns Near Nithi Falls Oil and mixed media on linen

47 x 39 in.

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The Moon raised high above Nelion Peak - Mt. Kenya

Oil and mixed media on linen · 24 x 24 in.

High Street | Stockbridge | Hampshire | SO20 6HE 01264 810364 | enquiries@wykehamgallery.co.uk www.wykehamgallery.co.uk