Flora Malpas is an artist working in print, drawing and painting to investigate a sense of presence and absence within the landscape. Using a largely monochromatic palet she creates thoughtful, reflective works which tread the line between abstract and figurative as they attempt both to refer to a particular experience, be that a shipwreck on the horizon, a lamb’s tail in a field or mist over a lake, and to break down the surface to give a sense of ambiguity, uncertainty and flux.

Taking one motif at a time, Malpas works in series to repeat and re-explore the composition. Working by hand and an engagement with materials are key to her way of making. From experimenting with the use of ground ash as a pigment to testing out the effects of spit bite etching, she consistently pushes the potential of the material to communicate the fleeting sense of presence and absence within the landscapes depicted. 

Having always lived and worked in London, Malpas has recently relocated her practice to Hertfordshire to be closer to the rural landscape.