Viewing Room 13: New paintings by Molly Thomson and sculptures by Victoria Fenn

Although working in different materials and pursuing their own techniques, both Molly Thomson and Victoria Fenn share an interest in architecture, form, memory, materiality and the hidden structures beneath the surfaces we encounter. Their practices are rooted in the processes of making, construction and transformation, creating work that rewards close observation and understanding.

Molly Thomson sets initial rules that are then broken, disrupting the process and opening up uncertainty. There is a constant tension between control and the unpredictable behaviour of materials, with each work developing through repetition, slow adjustments and revision. The resulting forms sit somewhere between rational construction and playful experiment.

Although often described as sculptural, the work is rooted in painting and explores it in its broadest sense. Molly is interested in the architecture and physical presence of a painting, and in its movement towards objecthood. Structure and painting develop together: poured paint becomes part of an ongoing conversation with the changing form. Layers of colour may reinforce a contour or make the surface appear porous; weight can be offset by visual lightness, while exposed layers suggest shadow. Nothing is predetermined.

Some works retain traces of their original logic, while others are built from off-cuts and discarded fragments, allowing to her escape familiar patterns and excessive control. Elements from different, disassembled works may also be spliced together. Interior spaces are often revealed through small openings beneath thin layers of poured colour. Through this process of cutting, layering and re-ordering, a new kind of order gradually emerges.

Molly Thomson was born in Scotland. She studied sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art and art history at Edinburgh University. This was followed by an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art in London. After her studies she combined painting with teaching, most recently at Norwich University of the Arts. She currently works full-time in her studio near Norwich. 

Victoria Fenn is a sculptor exploring memory, landscape and her deep connection to the Cambridgeshire Fens, where she grew up on a family farm. Her work draws on the geometry of the landscape—fields, dykes, drains, hedges and tyre tracks—and the tools and working lives shaped by it.

After studying Three Dimensional Design, specialising in silversmithing and metalwork at Camberwell College of Arts, Victoria became a successful garden designer. Moving to North Norfolk and renovating a 17th-century farmhouse reignited her passion for making and led her back to sculpture. Using traditional silversmithing techniques and hand tools, she combines brass, copper and gilding metal with ancient Fenland bog oak, some dating to 3000 BC. She sometimes buries her work in soil from her father’s land, creating unpredictable patinas shaped by the minerals and salts in the earth.

Inspired by archaeological discoveries at Flag Fen and Must Farm, Victoria’s work connects contemporary sculpture with the hidden histories, materials and memories of the Fenland landscape.