Max Wade speaks from his studio in Harlow, Essex about his latest body of work for his solo exhibition 'Ancestors', now on view @sidmotiongallery , London (20 March - 2 May 2026).
This series marks a significant evolution in @maxwellwade 's practice, with sculptural assemblages presented alongside his paintings for the first time.
Huge thanks to Imogen Putler @imoputler for this beautiful film, capturing an important moment in Max's practice. Watch in full on the gallery website now.
For the full list of works and to read the exhibition text by Matthew Burrows MBE @matthewburrowsstudio , visit the link in bio.
#Ancestors #MaxWade #ImogenPutler #SidMotionGallery
Left ‘The conductor’, Right ‘Frozen sketches’
Both 241 x 171cm, oil on linen from 2025.
Photo of them nearing completion in my studio last year
#painting #art #drawing #studio #maxwade
Today is the final day of my show ‘Ancestors’ @sidmotiongallery and I will be doing a walk through and talk at the gallery at 3pm (Saturday 2nd May)
✨All welcome ✨
Here’s an excerpt from the brilliant essay ‘Look at this’ written by @matthewburrowsstudio to accompany the exhibition.
Music plays a significant role in Wade’s studio. He often works while listening to particular musicians, allowing their structures and rhythms to drift through the room as he paints. He mentioned listening frequently to John Coltrane, whose restless searching through sound mirrors something in the way Wade moves through a painting. Coltrane’s later work, where melody stretches beyond its conventional limits into something more exploratory and spiritual, resonates with the sense of open investigation Wade sustains in his practice.
Listening to Wade describe this atmosphere, it became clear that the paintings share something with musical structures. They move through incident and variation, never quite settling, always testing another rhythm or possibility. At times the paintings feel almost scored, their marks distributed across the surface like phrases or passages. At other moments they open out into something closer to improvisation, a process of discovery unfolding in real time. This sense of searching becomes evident when looking closely at the paintings themselves.
#painting #sculpture #art #exhibition #maxwade
‘Frantic Licks’, oil on linen, 76 x 66cm, 2026
&
‘Syncopated’, wood, stone, paint, 170 x 51 x 29cm, 2025
Currently in my show ‘Ancestors’ @sidmotiongallery which closed this Saturday 2nd May.
On Saturday I will be doing a walk through of the show and talk at 3pm
All welcome 💫
‘Punk-shop Pop’, 140 x 45 , 40cm, galvanised metal, plaster, wood, bamboo, hessian, straw, paint, sand, pigment.
2026
Currently on show @sidmotiongallery as part of my show ‘Ancestors’ open until 2nd May
Please join us on Saturday 2nd May at 3pm for a walk-through and talk on the final day of my show ‘Ancestors’ at Sid Motion gallery @sidmotiongallery .
I will be talking about the new paintings and introduction of sculptural assemblages to my practice.
To reserve a place please RSVP to [email protected]
For a full list of works and exhibition text by Matthew Burrows MBE (@matthewburrowsstudio ) and a film of me in the studio by the brilliant Imogen Putler (@imoputler ) visit the gallery website -
#painting #sculpture #art #exhibition #london
‘Soap boiler’ 66 x 76cm, oil on linen, 2026.
Currently on show @sidmotiongallery in my solo exhibition ‘Ancestors’.
Runs until 2nd May 2036
Here’s a brief excerpt from the brilliant essay to accompany the show by @matthewburrowsstudio titled ‘Look at this’ where he touches upon this painting.
“Wade’s paintings invite this kind of coalescing vision. In the smaller painting Snookered, looking becomes something closer to a game of untethered strategy, a response to what happens when colours land in unexpected places. In Soap Boiler we encounter a paradoxical relationship between lightness and density. The hues feel buoyant and luminous, yet the paint itself is dense, robust and playful. This sense of openness has been present in Wade’s paintings since I first encountered them five years ago. They are profoundly self-effacing works. Rather than announcing themselves - look at me - they seem instead to circle back and say look at this. Their curiosity refuses closure. They resist the comfort of painterly tropes and stylistic certainty, keeping the work alive to the next possibility.“
#painting #sculpture #art #exhibition #maxwade
‘Fever Dream’ 180 x 150cm
Oil on linen, 2026
Currently in my solo show ‘Ancestors’ @sidmotiongallery until 2nd May 2026.
#painting #sculpture #art #exhibition #maxwade
