Taste Contemporary is pleased to present Ways of Looking, a solo exhibition of small paintings by British painter Ben Sadler. Here, the artist is showing, for the first time, all twenty-four portraits from his 2024 series, You and I, alongside a selection of more recent works. Quietly compelling and poignant, these portraits of imagined people at exhibitions are rich in meaning.

As viewers, we are drawn into their world; who are they, where do they come from, what thoughts are going through their minds? Sometimes meeting our gaze, sometimes looking away, they appear pensive and reflective. Lost in their own thoughts, these figures possess a quiet and timeless quality.

Charming, and sometimes amusing, they suggest eclectic states of mind and varying degrees of intrigue. For Sadler, the starting point for these works was the idea of ‘the different layers of things happening at an exhibition opening, where there’s the work, there’s the space, there’s the person in the space, and then there’s that shared space of talking to each other.’

In 2026, Taste Contemporary introduces In Conversation, a new series of talks bringing gallery artists into dialogue with writers, publishers, and thinkers whose work compliments their practice.

The inaugural event on 22 January, presented with Hurtwood Books, features artist Ben Sadler in conversation with Hurtwood founder Francis Atterbury. The evening will include readings from You & I, Hurtwood’s 2025 publication on Sadler’s work, followed by a discussion exploring the artist’s process and his interest in how artwork, space, and viewer form a shared field of attention.