The Importance of Narrative in Art
At its core, visual art is seen, but it is the story surrounding the art that allows it to resonate. A painting becomes infinitely more compelling when we encounter the tale of its creation, the emotional journey of the artist, or the deeper meaning embedded in imagery. Stories transform art from static images into living conversation, inviting us to ponder, connect and feel. Whether it's the pop‑culture collage of legendary icons or an intimate emotive palette knife stroke, the narrative encourages us to look beyond surface beauty into the world it reveals. Art can just be about a pleasing painting on the wall or an eye-catching sculpture to compliment a space, but it can also be so much more. We can use art to lift our moods, evoke emotion and create invigorating, or calm and restful spaces. But the storytelling around an artwork can enhance it further.
In October this year the gallery is holding an exhibition of original prints by Sir Peter Blake, the Godfather of British Pop Art. The exhibition explores Blake through the years, featuring some decades old editions and new releases. Take Blake’s 2017 portfolio edition A Rose is a Rose is a Rose as an example:
Sir Peter Blake A Rose is a Rose is a Rose, Portfolio set of three silkscreen prints with glazes, 2017
This portfolio is more than a visual celebration of floral beauty, it is a layered narrative that speaks through symbol, repetition and art history. Drawing its title from Gertrude Stein’s famous poetic line, the work becomes a meditation on meaning itself. The line A Rose is a Rose is a Rose first appeared in her 1913 poem Sacred Emily, later published in the book Geography and Plays in 1922. While often interpreted as an affirmation that "things are what they are”, the first "Rose" in the original poem was the name of a person. In fact, Blake’s daughter is called Rose.
The phrase, initially meant to disrupt traditional literary expectations, here becomes a frame through which Blake explores both the literal and symbolic significance of the rose in Western art and culture. Across the triptych of prints, each one distinct in style but united by subject, we are invited to see the rose not just as a flower, but as a motif echoing through time, through visual languages, and through memory.
Each panel tells its own story: one, a dense collage of varied roses, evokes the idea of abundance and the universality of the image; another, a crisp modern grid of geometric colour blocks, reminds us of Blake’s Pop Art roots, playfully suggesting that even the traditional rose can be recontextualized in the language of design and abstraction. The final panel, a close-up of a single pink rose, returns us to intimacy, to the personal and tender. Together, the series reveals how meaning is shaped not only by how something looks, but by the associations and histories it carries. This is the essence of narrative in art: a rose is never just a rose, especially when placed in the hands of an artist who has spent a lifetime layering culture, memory and symbol into his work.
To elaborate further on narrative in art we’ll look at another artist, PJ Crook MBE RWA FRSA, known for her storytelling on wood or canvas. In PJ Crook’s Extinction Rebellion 3, narrative is not merely decorative, it invites an emotional dialogue between the painting, its owner, and the community in which it lives. Crook paints from memory and intuition rather than direct observation, allowing each composition to emerge as a snapshot of personal and collective consciousness. In this small but richly detailed work, the theme recalls the global environmental movement by name, yet its execution blends quiet, almost surreal tranquillity with social urgency. Bringing such a piece into your collection is to welcome a living story, one that quietly instils calm reflection even as it speaks to timely concerns.
PJ Crook MBE RWA FRSA Extinction Rebellion 3, Tinted Gesso on Wood
Crook’s paintings always feel like they are telling a story, and Extinction Rebellion 3 is no different. Crook’s work plays with space and perspective, her frames bleed into the artwork itself, disrupting the flatness, and the scene reaches toward the viewer’s world. This immersive quality means that Extinction Rebellion 3 becomes part of its owner’s environment, images within the painting might almost step out of the frame and into the real world. Crook’s paintings align visual delight with deeper narrative undertones, making them both a beautiful object and a conversation.
Living with such narrative-driven art creates ongoing resonance. Narrative animates art. It transforms canvas into conversation, brushstroke into memory, colour into emotion. It’s what invites us back, not just to see, but to feel, recall, and connect.
