The Drifting Place is a meditative experience, a liminal dwelling between the public and private, the real and imagined. Lucy O’Doherty is known for her dreamy depictions of rooms, homes and pools – scenes that feel deeply familiar and yet, pleasurably new. In her solo exhibition at China Heights Gallery, she presents 20 hazy oil paintings and soft pastel drawings that aim to trigger a ‘drifting’ mental state.
Green curtains, bird railing and Agapanthus (2025) is one of the larger works hanging in the first room of the Gallery and serves as an introduction to a newer visual motif in O’Doherty’s practice: the curtain. The curtain – like the window – is a recurring subject in the art canon. It’s a visual threshold between interior and exterior and in this instance, realism and surrealism. The silhouette of a bird blends seamlessly into the structure of the railing, partially obscured by the green curtains. In the background, water shimmers in high contrast. This may be a perfect illusion or a probable future. In conversation with the wide windows of the gallery, O’Doherty’s curtains resonate quietly with the audience, conjuring imagined possibilities and subtle deviations from the ordinary.
Umbrella reflections in Ischian pool (2024) draws more directly from O’Doherty’s established iconography. A pool is nestled among greenery, adorned with striped umbrellas and matching sun lounges, gesturing towards escape – a holiday, an experience that is removed from the routine. The pale pink hue of the water, in its uncanny and reflective stillness, stretches just beyond the realm of reality, rendering the painting all the more entrancing. A playful undertone emerges in unexpected details across these pool paintings, such as the lava lamp and seagull in The Soar Spot (2025, pictured above), which features an empty, pink pool; the overall tone of the show strikes a delightful balance between contemplation and excitement.
Smaller works on paper and linen invite intimate insights into alluring parallel universes. In Crossing the Water (2025), the recognisable interior of a ferry is rendered with precision, complete with wide, bolted windows, uniform chairs, and a fire hydrant. Yet, on closer inspection, the unrealistic absence of people becomes clearer. This emptiness is consistent across The Drifting Place, which only enhances the show’s meditative impact. Instead of chatter or disorder, there is a focus on perception and simplicity.
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Positioned towards the end of the second gallery room, Gateway to a Veiled Sun (2025) sums up why O’Doherty’s exhibition is worth a visit. A pastel and pencil drawing on paper, it leans into more abstract than the other works, featuring a vaguely defined water-body and a soft, hazy sun. This could be anywhere in the world, at any time: a lasting and much-needed impression of drifting peace, far from the usual chaos of the everyday.
The Drifting Place is a retreat and feast for the senses.
Lucy O’Doherty: The Drifting Place will be exhibited at China Heights Gallery in Sydney until 1 June 2025,
