Ptolemy Mann: Chromatic Minimalism

Tristan Hoare Gallery is delighted to present Chromatic Minimalism, Ptolemy Mann’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Partly inspired by a recent visit to Mexico City and the enduring influence of Mexican architect Luis Barragán, this new body of work deepens Mann’s engagement with the emotional, spatial, and compositional possibilities of colour.

Often described as ‘Chromatic Minimalism’, Mann’s practice combines the emotional potential of colour with a minimalist commitment to restraint and clarity. Born in New York, she was profoundly influenced by the legacy of Minimalism and Colour Field Painting, drawing inspiration from artists such as Mark Rothko, Donald Judd, Barnett Newman, and James Turrell. Their emphasis on clarity of the visual field resonates strongly within her work, where colour itself becomes the subject, medium, and experience.

Through saturated hues, carefully orchestrated gradations, and an expansive chromatic spectrum, her works are marked by an immediate and visceral intensity that evokes an emotional rather than intellectual response. In doing so, she transforms the woven surface into a space of contemplation and immersion, where perception, atmosphere, and emotion become intertwined.

‘The fibre I weave with is very much secondary,’ she explains. ‘What I’m really interested in is the surface - a smooth articulate surface that delivers colour in a pure way’.

From the outset of her career, Mann has found a natural affinity with Barragán, whose use of saturated planes of colour contrasted with areas of shadow, light, and muted tones was fundamental to the sensory impact of his architecture. Mann translates these principles into woven form, employing colour as both a structural and expressive device through which emotion, rhythm, and spatial depth are conveyed. Equally influential are Baragán’s framed portals and views. Echoing these compositional strategies, Mann introduces stronger geometric division and a sense of architectural monumentality within her recent works, creating a layered effect that appears to advance, recede, and unfold across the surface.

On the night of the British Museum Annual Ball 2026, Ptolemy Mann’s artworks were projected within and outside of the museum. Shaped by the Ball's Artistic Director, Es Devlin, the theme and visual identity of the ball was red, the earliest pigment known to have been used by humans in artistic expression. Red is a unifying thread woven through all three of the Museum's upcoming displays, from the embroidered wool of the Tapestry, the stripes of the American flag to the rich hues found across centuries of Korean art.