SARAH ADAMS PRESENTS FROM DARKNESS INTO LIGHT AT THE MAAS GALLERY THIS OCTOBER
September 2025
This October, St James’s gallery regular Sarah Adams returns to The Maas Gallery for a milestone 10th solo exhibition, presenting From Darkness Into Light from 8–24 October 2025, with a private view on 7 October.
For nearly two decades, Adams has explored the spectacular and often formidable Cornish coastline, and her latest collection continues this fascination. Yet there is a noticeable shift in tone: from the shadowed cliffs and hidden sea caves to the expansive brilliance of Cornish light, offering uplifting perspectives alongside her signature grandeur.
Adams invites viewers into the intertidal zone, a world of contrasts where calm meets chaos and intimate details coexist with sweeping vistas. Mineralised seams carve fantastical forms into the cliffs, while verdigris, oxides, and natural pigments stain the rocks in a kaleidoscope of colour – emerald algae, jewel-like orange sponges, clusters of indigo mussels, and golden barnacles glinting in the sun.
The geometry and dynamism of the coastline are central to Adams’s compositions. Columns of rock rise against distant horizons, curves flirt with the canvas edge, and tiny points of focus guide the eye toward headlands and hidden coves. Through this careful orchestration, the viewer is drawn into labyrinthine caves and stacks, emerging into the light of day.
Adams describes her process as immersive and experiential: “Making observational work on site is so much more than a snapshot…back in the studio this is reconstructed, the drawings and memory combine, and I place myself back there. I want the viewer to engage with the sense of place in a similar way – to drink it all in.”
Rupert Maas captures the essence of the work: “Inside a Cornish sea cave there’s no safety, you’re exploring a secret world that belongs to the ocean. Sarah Adams’s extraordinary paintings seem to come from the ancient rock itself, capturing moments of wonder and light.”
The exhibition features large oil paintings on linen alongside smaller oil studies on board, all available for sale, offering collectors and art lovers a chance to experience the drama and serenity of Cornwall’s coastline through Adams’s remarkable vision.
📍 The Maas Gallery, 6 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1Y 6BN
+44 (0) 20 7930 9511 | ✉ mail@maasgallery.com | 🌐 maasgallery.co.uk
