Rachel Thorlby's work blends photography, drawing, painting and sculpture to portraiture and landscape paintings.
Photocopies of old masters such as Fragonard and Ingres are married with paper mache and unfired clay, subverting the original references to class and social standing demonstrated through the sitter, luscious colours and extravagant outfits played out in the original paintings. The references to art history and the romantic sublime are inherent in the works, but the attempt to disrupt and undermine desire within the viewer is both haunting and contemporary.
Recent exhibitions includes Madder139, London; PSL, Leeds; Transition, London.