Rebel Bloom
There are moments in running a gallery when an artwork walks in and immediately changes the temperature of the room. Not politely. Not gradually. More like: “Hi, I’m here now, everything is different, you’re welcome!”
That was my experience the first time I saw a submission from Clare Chinnery.
Let me be brutally honest for a second: I have never been a “floral art” person. I’m not even a fan of bouquets of flowers! Floral artwork definitely has its place and is incredibly popular, but I’ve always found it a bit too sweet and overly polite. I’ve spent years politely sidestepping them as if they were wielding a perfume tester at Selfridges, eager to spritz me against my will.
And then Clare arrived with her Riot Grrrl florals that feel like Kathleen Hanna kicked the door off its hinges and hit you over the head with them. In the best possible way of course! I’m not advocating assault by the way but I am a huge fan! They said “Right. Let’s talk about beauty, decay, life, death, and everything you’ve been avoiding.”
The Punk Beneath the Petals
When getting to know Clare more, she told me she saw Bikini Kill in 1993 and everything made sense. Of course she did, love it, that energy is in the work.
There’s a quiet feminist rebellion humming under every brushstroke, a refusal to make beauty small, safe, or digestible. Her paintings hold the tension between abundance and decay, softness and strength, life and death. They’re tender, but never fragile.
This is beauty with teeth, softness with a spine.
A bouquet that knows exactly what it’s worth.
The Art That Doesn’t Sit Still
Clare paints with the intensity of someone who feels every colour in her bones. They don’t perch quietly in the corner like polite little still lifes. They surge forward with such movement. Clare works in thick, sculptural oil paint, layered, scraped, dragged, and pushed until the surface becomes this living thing. Then she hits it with bursts of spray paint, scratches, drips, and gestural marks that feel like electricity running through the canvas. It’s old‑master drama meets contemporary rebellion.
Yes, she draws from Dutch Vanitas, the chiaroscuro, the symbolism, the memento mori but she refuses to treat it like a museum relic. She drags it into the present, gives it a shot of adrenaline, and lets it misbehave!
They’re emotional. They’re defiant. They’re alive.
The Debut Collection That Shifted the Room
When we hung Clare’s debut collection at Seventh Circle, the entire space shifted. Her work didn’t simply settle in with her contemporaries around them, they expanded the room and added to the boldness already here. It felt like the missing puzzle piece we didn’t know we were waiting for.
Every painting in the collection carries its own emotional weather system:
Push Pineapple Shake the Tree - a riot of colour and movement, inspired by Jan Frans van Dael but dragged joyfully into the present.
Let It Slide - thick, sculptural paint that feels like a jug of flowers fighting its way into being.
Time Won’t Take My Love Away - summer energy, 80s music, and fleeting joy captured in luminous brushwork.
Her Heart as Light as Feathers… - resilience, softness, and Dolly Parton all woven into one luminous, layered moment.
This Close to Me - a simple jug of garden flowers transformed into something urgent and alive.
Light and Life Within the Semblance of Death - a contemporary memento mori that holds beauty and mortality in the same breath.
Happy Endings - a celebration of everyday pleasure, inspired by Rachel Ruysch and reimagined with punk energy.
Clare’s debut collection is now available to view and purchase at Seventh Circle. See the full series in person at the gallery or explore the collection online. If a piece hits you in the chest, don’t wait, claim your favourite online before someone else does!
Marie Hutton
Gallery Director
