Only a handful of days remain to catch the exhibition celebrating the wide-ranging creative output of Isle of Wight writer and artist Fran Heath.
Organisers have added an extra day to Retrospectrum, which runs at the Clayden Gallery, Quay Arts, Newport, until Sunday 12th July 2026.
Writing, illustration and painting
Fran works across several disciplines, writing literary fiction alongside comics, and she both wrote and illustrated a children’s picture book exploring the gender stereotyping of toys.
She has also produced a compilation of drawings drawn from her daily dreams.
Her paintings draw influence from abstraction and surrealism, employing geometric shapes, block colours and hard edges on canvas board to build a distinctive visual style.
From everyday objects to three-dimensional worlds
Fran also constructs boxed three-dimensional models she calls Dire-Ramas, which bring together retro doll’s house furniture, unusual secondhand finds and her own small sculptures.
Each Dire-Rama often begins with the objects themselves, and the humorous, surreal and nostalgic qualities of her finds guide the work that grows around them.
Visiting the exhibition
Retrospectrum runs at the Clayden Gallery, Quay Arts, Newport, until Sunday 12th July 2026, opening daily from 9am to 4pm.
