Marguerite Horner: Numinous

Numinous presents the monochromatic, radiant and accomplished paintings of British artist Marguerite Horner (b. 1954), inspired by a trip to Beachwood Canyon, California, and produced in 2023. The twenty-one watercolors and two oil paintings which make up the series of the same name depict flat expanses of sand, the sunlit sea, cacti, American highways and the silhouettes of distant people seen from above.

The publication features a foreword by writer Matt Price, describing the charged, luminous moments depicted in the Numinous series. In his essay, multi-disciplinary scholar Dr Matthew Holman discusses the setting of California and Horner’s painting style within the context of British and American painting and her previous bodies of work.

Through the series, Horner explores the ‘numinous’, a concept defined by Lutheran theologian Rudolf Otto that indicates the presence of divinity. A keen observer, she is interested in the possibility of transcendence in everyday life and places.