Charlie Kirkham

Floor One Galleries & Balcony Gallery
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, 19–30 May 2026

This May, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum hosts a compelling joint exhibition titled The Cost of Love, featuring paintings by British artists Charlie Kirkham and Robert Walker. Curated by Kirkham herself, the show reimagines classical mythology through a contemporary lens, delving into themes of desire, transformation, beauty, vulnerability, and loss.

Mythology Meets Modernity

The exhibition draws on timeless figures from Greek, Roman, and Christian traditions—Apollo & Daphne, Narcissus, Adonis & Aphrodite, Saint George & the Dragon, and more. Rather than simply retelling these stories, Kirkham and Walker inhabit their emotional and psychological spaces. The works explore the tensions between self and other, the fragility of beauty, the pull of longing and the painful price of love.

Beauty is revealed as both seductive and unsettling

The paintings hold open the ambiguities of attraction and repulsion, control and surrender, inviting viewers to reflect on how these ancient archetypes continue to resonate in contemporary life.

The Artists

Charlie Kirkham is a Midlands-based visual artist and curator known for blending folklore, mythology, and personal symbolism. Her practice often explores hero/monster dualities, dragons as mirrors of the self, and themes of vulnerability and transformation. Kirkham uses free association and automatic drawing to create fractured narratives that blur autobiography with classical myth. She has received numerous accolades, including Arts Council England support, and is an elected member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art.

Robert Walker (theartistrobert) is a Suffolk-based fine art painter specializing in ‘geo-figurative’ works and still lifes, primarily in oils. Self-taught with training from notable ateliers, he brings technical rigor and a distinctive voice to figurative painting. His works often feature emotional depth and compositional clarity, and he actively supports charitable causes through his art.

Together, their distinct yet complementary styles create a subtle dialogue across the exhibition—restrained yet charged compositions where gesture and gaze carry narrative weight.

Many originals have found homes already but giclée prints are available.

Why Visit?

The Cost of Love offers more than beautiful paintings, it poses deeper questions: What is the true cost of longing? How do myths help us process modern emotions? In a world of fleeting connections these works remind us of the enduring power (and peril) of human desire.

Details

• Dates: Tuesday 19 May – Saturday 30 May 2026
• Venue: Floor One Galleries & Balcony Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Little Elborow Street, Rugby, CV21 3BZ
• Entry: Free
• Opening Hours: Tues–Fri 10–5, Sat 10–4 (open bank holiday Monday)

If you’re in the Midlands or can make the trip, this exhibition promises a powerful collision of styles and stories you won’t want to miss.

Follow the artists on Instagram (@charliekirkhamart and @theartistrobert) for previews and behind-the-scenes insights.

What myth resonates most with your own experiences of love and loss? Share in the comments, i love to hear your thoughts!