Tracing Time: Jemma Powell And Leah Wood Announce Joint Exhibition During Frieze Week London
Artists Jemma Powell and Leah Wood have announced joint exhibition ‘Tracing Time’ during Frieze Week, London.
Tracing Time, a joint exhibition of new paintings, explores the passage of time and the spaces we inhabit in the urban and natural world. It sparks a conversation about how our surroundings, both visual and physical, shape our identity in a specific moment of time and sees a juxtaposition of Powell’s abstract and textural cityscapes and Wood’s impressionistic landscapes.
Artists Leah Wood and Jemma Powell
Powell a renowned colorist uses colour (used by the artist to express her emotions) and form merged to reflect the chaos, the beauty and the ever-evolving nature of a city landscape. For the exhibtion Powell has created a series of oil paintings from carefully chosen rooftop vantage points across London, capturing the essence of a city skyline and urban metropolis.
Powell’s traces buildings constructed from different eras, translating them into bold, dynamic works that pulse with the rhythm of the city – from the sleek, modern energy of skyscrapers to the intricate details of an historical structure.
About the exhibition Jemma Powell said, “This collection of paintings came together after visiting and painting on the rooftops of different places around London over the past year. As I was drawing and painting, I began to trace with my eye the buildings constructed across different time periods. The juxtaposition of different architectural styles made me think about how each era leaves its mark on the urban landscape, from the sleek, modern energy of towering skyscrapers to the intricate, nostalgic details of historical structures. London has an ongoing dialogue between past and present that is embedded visually in its skyline. It’s great to be able to show this work alongside Leah, demonstrating our individual expression across a shared theme.”
Jemma Powell
Wood on the other hand paints the natural world, producing landscapes that evoke emotion, thought and expression. Her paintings express the transient nature of life, capturing fleeting, fragile moments within the ever-changing seasons of the natural world. She explores landscapes through a lens of expansive skies, rolling hills and the fluidity of water using thick paint and bright, expressive strokes.
About the exhibition Leah Wood added, “Tracing Time is a deeply personal exhibition for me and evolved from conversations with Jemma and deep thinking around shared themes. I have long admired Jemma’s work and we wanted to find a way to show our work together and present the contrast between life in the city and the countryside and we both express this through our painting.”
Leah Wood
Powell and Wood are collaborating with TimeGivers, a London-based charity and volunteering platform for children and young people. As part of the collaboration, Powell and Wood will donate proceeds from the sale of their work to TimeGivers and will also contribute their time to create a permanent mural on a cafe in Feltham, West London, working alongside TimeGivers volunteers and students, Hounslow council and local residents.
Tracing Time is opened to the public 17 – 29 Oct 2025 at Roof Gardens Kensington, 99 Kensington High St, London W8 5SA.