Jo Lewis - HAIKU
18 November 2025 - 20 January 2026
Online Exhibition

HAIKU presents twenty new watercolours by Jo Lewis, a series that embraces the concise, mirrored structure of the haiku to explore what can be achieved within deliberately narrow limits. Known for her large-scale works made in dialogue with water and weather, Lewis turns here to an intimate format where restraint becomes a source of depth.

Each painting begins with a single horizontal brushmark that anchors the white space. Subsequent marks respond to the last, forming an additive sequence in which the logic of the work gradually reveals itself. The transparency of watercolour leaves every decision visible; repetition exposes subtle shifts and departures.

Colour appears sparingly but with purpose, valued as much for the relationships formed at its edges as for its sensory impact. These small intersections - an overlap, an underlay, a near-invisible tint - are where the works’ most delicate complexities reside.

The sensibility of haiku runs throughout: what is half-stated carries weight. Bashō’s question, “Is there any good in saying everything?”, and David Cobb’s observation that haiku relies on a collaboration between maker and reader, both resonate here. These paintings ask for quiet attention. Time slows. Presence deepens.

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