The skies in London are grey and stormy as Storm Ciara retires in advance of Storm Dennis, with wind and rain creating chaos, albeit there were a couple of days of normality in between the two.  Summer, however, has arrived at Skarstedt with American artist Eric Fischl’s colourful images of sunshine, sand and summer days in his new exhibition ‘Figures’.

While they initially look like paintings, his work is in fact created by collages and drawings, perhaps reflecting the separation between people and the spaces they occupy, albeit for a short intransient period of time, on the beach.

What was also fascinating about the exhibition at Skarstedt was the unexpected flash of light which entered the gallery through the doorway, while the rest of the gallery was shielded in blinds.  When walking in the grey environment of the streets outside there was no indication of any such light – how then did it appear here, as if by magic – a magic which then continues through Eric Fishl’s paintings.

In one part of Mayfair at least, the optimism and colour of spring, leading into summer, has arrived – hooray!  We need it!