In Full Bloom: Camilla Perkins Dreams in Colour at Opera Gallery London

Opera Gallery London's upcoming exhibition Dreaming in Colour (5 March – 6 April 2026) brings together more than 20 emerging artists to explore how a new generation of artists engage with dreams, the unconscious, and colour, continuing a dialogue Opera has long championed through artists like Chagall, Kusama, and Niki de Saint Phalle. Among the exhibitors, the practice of British-born artist Camilla Perkins stands out, with work rooted in the gardens and light of East Sussex, she converges themes of nostalgia and intuition on both linen and canvas. New Wave was lucky enough to sit down with Perkins and ask her how it all begins.

Camilla Perkins. Image Credit: Camilla Perkins and Opera Gallery London.

Dreaming in Colour marks just over a century since the birth of Surrealism and explores how contemporary artists engage with dreams. Your work creates ‘windows’ into imagined gardens and summer memories, do you see your dreamscapes as connected to Surrealist traditions, or do they stem from a different impulse, or is it a mixture of both?

I think there is definitely a connection to Surrealism, particularly in the way dreams allow unexpected combinations and emotional truths to surface. My paintings aren’t direct illustrations of specific dreams, but they come from a similar intuitive space where memory, imagination, and feeling overlap. They are also rooted in very real places and moments from my life, so it’s a mixture of subconscious impulse and lived experience. I’m interested in creating spaces that feel psychologically real rather than literally real.

Your style draws influence from vintage textiles and mid-century children’s book palettes. How do these references, if at all, shape the emotional tone of the works you are presenting in Dreaming in Colour?

Vintage textiles and mid-century children’s books have a huge influence on the emotional tone of my work. They carry a sense of warmth, nostalgia, and familiarity. The colours often feel slightly faded or softened by time, which brings a gentleness and comfort. I think they connect to childhood and memory, and that helps create an atmosphere that feels both personal and shared.

Colour is described as central to your practice, particularly in its ability to trigger memory. In the context of this exhibition, how do you think colour operates as a bridge between the personal and the collective unconscious?

Colour is central to how I communicate emotion and memory. Certain colour combinations can trigger very specific feelings without needing narrative explanation. While my choices are personal, they often resonate with others because colour holds shared associations. It becomes a way of connecting inner emotional landscapes with something more universal. I’ll usually base a piece around a palette that I’ve created rather than what exists in reality and I always start with a coloured ground to set the tone. A warm peach can emphasise the memory of being in a garden in the height of summer, or a rich king’s blue can create the feeling of twilight.

Texture and visible, post-impressionist brushstrokes are key to your large-scale garden paintings. How important is materiality, in the thickness of oil pastel and paint, in immersing the viewer within your dream-like spaces?  

I love the instant burst of colour that you get from using oil pastels and pigment sticks, the physical size of the medium also force you to be more expressive and I really enjoy the lipstick-like texture. The finished works almost look like embroidery against the paper or canvas. When creating pieces on linen or canvas I work in oils, I also use a layer of flashe as my ground as I really enjoy the contrast between the matte texture of the flashe and glossy oil paint. The visible brushstrokes and textures slow the viewer down and emphasise the act of making. I want the paintings to feel tangible, almost like you could step into them.

Camilla Perkins, Cutting Cantaloupe at Dusk. Image credit: Camilla Perkins.

Much of your work evokes tranquillity, blossoming gardens, and favourite summer holidays. For this exhibition, did you find that you needed to at all balance this serenity with the more psychologically charged aspects often associated with dream imagery?

Although the paintings often appear calm and peaceful, I’m interested in the complexity beneath that surface. Dreams and memories aren’t purely tranquil; they can hold longing, melancholy, or ambiguity. I don’t consciously try to disrupt the serenity, but those emotional layers naturally emerge through the process.

The exhibition foregrounds artists who explore memory, and inner life through expressive approaches. Your paintings rely on intuition and avoid under-sketching. What role does this instinct play in accessing and creating the dream-like quality of your work?

Instinct plays a huge role in my practice. I rarely plan the paintings in detail beforehand. Working intuitively allows unexpected things to happen, and that’s often where the most meaningful moments occur. It helps keep the work alive and connected to feeling rather than logic.

The exhibition brings together artists from across continents, creating a global dialogue around dreams and imagination. Do you feel your work is rooted in a specifically British landscape or sensibility, particularly the countryside of East Sussex, and how does that sit within this international context?

My work is deeply rooted in the British landscape, particularly the countryside around East Sussex where I’ve grown up. The gardens, light, and atmosphere are very familiar to me and I’m lucky to be in such close proximity to world renowned creative institutions such as Charleston Farmhouse and Monk’s House where I’m able to obtain endless inspiration. I think the themes of memory, nature, and dreaming are universal, so even though the settings are specific, the emotional experience can be shared more widely.

Alongside your fine art practice, you have an established career in illustration and have collaborated widely on commercial projects. Did this movement between commercial illustration and fine art ultimately influence how you approach an exhibition context such as Dreaming in Colour?

Having a background in design has really influenced how I approach my work, I often use a limited colour palette which I think gives everything a more cohesive feel and creates balance. You’ll always find a multitude of pinks and greens in my pieces, they’re my neutrals! Moving into fine art gave me more freedom to be open-ended and intuitive. I think the two practices inform each other, but painting allows more space for ambiguity and personal exploration.

Camilla Perkins, The Orchard House Under the Moonlight, 2025. Image Credit: Camilla Perkins and Opera Gallery London.

Dreaming in Colour runs from the 5th of March to the 6th of April 2026 at Opera Gallery London.