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Saul Hay Gallery is proud to present
Jen Orpin – The Architecture of Connection
Saturday 29th November - Sunday 21st December 2025
Preview Saturday 29th November 2pm to 6pm
About the exhibition
This is Jen Orpin’s sixth solo exhibition and second at Saul Hay Gallery and marks the ten-year anniversary of the passing of her father. On the 15th December 2015, after three months in ICU her dad peacefully passed away. For the three months he was in hospital she travelled back and forth every week to Surrey from Manchester.
In 2018 she started painting her motorway bridges. The landmarks that served her so well became the main focus of each painting, punctuating her route, marking the passing of time and telling her where she was up to on the journey’s she made three years previously.
This exhibition explores the connections we make to each other as well as to the landscape outside of the car window, not only to what’s in front, but when we look left and right. This is portrayed by a series of ‘Edge Land’ paintings capturing the topography that often goes unnoticed as our eyes are locked straight ahead.
A selection of drawings will hang next to this collection of new, small in scale paintings, inviting an intimacy with the viewer. As you make your way round the
exhibition, this continues as Jen is sharing, for the first time, some of the personal emails and messages people have sent her.
Jen will be at the gallery every day painting throughout the exhibition dates (excluding 12th /13th /14th Dec) and welcomes you to come and talk to her about the work and take a look at what she has developing on the easel.
Browse the exhibition
About Jen Orpin AMAFA
Jen Orpin (born Surrey, England, 1974) lives and works in Manchester. She studied at Manchester Metropolitan University (BA 1996) and has been a member of Rogue Artists’ Studios since 2000, she is also a Member of Manchester Academy of Fine Art.
She co- founded Rogue Women in 2019 and has organised and curated four survey exhibitions of its members and invited guest artists from around the UK. She is also the founder of A Small Space Artist Collective based in Manchester.
Her motorway paintings have featured in several publications including the Guardian online and twice in the Observer’s New Review and on BBC Radio 6music and ITVX. As well as being invited into exhibitions across the UK and abroad, she’s also shown in open exhibitions including the Jackson’s Painting Prize, The New Light Art Prize, The ING discerning Eye Exhibition, The Wells Art Contemporary, The Wales Open, The London Group open and the first and second HOME Exhibitions where she was shortlisted on both occasions. She’s also exhibited at art fairs in Manchester, London, South Korea and has been selected for the last three Royal Academy Summer Shows.
She’s had solo shows in Manchester, London and Seoul and her work is held in private collections both here and internationally.
Her work is also held in two public collections; New Art Gallery, Walsall and Manchester Art Gallery.