21/09/2026
It is our great pleasure to announce ‘The First Stranger’, a solo exhibition showcasing the imaginative visual language of
Joseph Dilnot (b.1997, Brighton, England) lives and works in East Sussex. Informed by mythology, literature, historical research and a deep connection to his local landscape, Joseph’s lyrical paintings unfurl personal reflections and insights creating visual poems in which the earthly co-exists alongside enigmatic phenomena.
The artist engages in detailed world building by suggestion, knowingly leaving gaps and mysteries as you might find in historical manuscripts, weathered and erased by time. He paints immersive landscapes such as hidden glades, living mountains and ethereal clouds bathed in rich, glowing colours. Figures walk in and out of these, sometimes half hidden or remaining on the edges of the scene, absorbed by the landscape.
As in mythology, Joseph invents hybrid creatures. Characters include archetypes such as exiles, strangers, adventurers, ghosts and lone travellers, navigating the enormity of the physical world whilst simultaneously engrossed in an insistent, internal drive to find answers to unknown questions. The paintings are inspired by a long standing love of the natural world and Joseph’s studies of zoology.
In 2019, Joseph received the Newman Young Artist and RosePaul scholarships to study at The Essential School of Painting in London. He has exhibited in galleries and institutions including Hastings Contemporary, Hastings; Glyndebourne, East Sussex; Mepaintsme, USA; Weald Contemporary, Sussex; Blue Shop Gallery, London; Lido Stores, Margate.
Exhibition runs
10-31 October 2026
Open Thursday-Sunday | 10am-5pm
Other times by appointment
Opening preview
Saturday 10 October | 6.30-8.30pm
All welcome
