Rye Kitty French retrospective

Kitty lived in Rye for nearly 30 years through the sixties and seventies when she was an inspirational head of art at the Thomas Peacocke School before moving to Hastings.

Here was an artist whose vivacity was matched by her ‘wild and exotic’ collages and batiks, just like Kitty herself, who described her work as ‘celebrations of dream-like situations taken not from reality but from the imagination’.

Kitty, who loved the work of Chagall and Dufy, created her own world of colourful figurative and extravagant collages and batiks showing lovers and harlequins and exotic folk being themselves or flamboyant flower arrangements set in decorative surroundings.

Featuring around 30 artworks including collages, batiks, mixed media and ink, loaned by her family and many friends and drawn from the gallery’s permanent collection, the exuberant show will be on display until January 5.

Rye Art Gallery is situated in the High Street and open daily but closed on Tuesdays.

Admission is free.