Sophie Barber: Mackerel sky, mackerel sky, never long wet, never long dry
Hastings Contemporary
27 September 2025 – 15 March 2026
Sophie Barber, In the Air, 2025 © Sophie Barber; photo: Michael Brzezinski
Hastings Contemporary presents Mackerel sky, mackerel sky, never long wet, never long dry, a solo museum exhibition by British artist Sophie Barber (b.1996) in the town where she lives and works.
Exhibiting new and recent work, Barber returns to her long-held interest in the stories and structures of art history. By referencing artists she admires, including Claes Oldenburg, Georgia O’Keeffe, David Hockney and Vincent van Gogh, Barber opens a dialogue between her own practice and theirs.
Mackerel sky, mackerel sky, never long wet, never long dry brings together the local and the legendary, the past and the present, showcasing Barber’s experimental practice which uses painting as a way of getting close – to place, art history, and the things that matter.