Once a familiar sight beneath kitchen sinks and in household cupboards across Britain, the humble Brasso tin becomes something altogether more extraordinary in 'Brasso', an original mixed-media artwork on aluminium by British contemporary artist Louise Dear. Bursting with colour, flowers and sparkling detail, Dear transforms an everyday object into a joyful celebration of memory, home and the beauty hidden within the familiar.

Against a radiant coral-orange ground, the distinctive vintage Brasso tin anchors an exuberant arrangement of electric blue and hot pink flowers. Painterly splashes and gestural marks move freely across the surface, while sparkling crystals punctuate the blooms with flashes of light. The contrast is irresistible; an object associated with polishing and domestic practicality recast with all the glamour, wit and colour of Louise Dear's contemporary visual language.

The idea has roots in Dear's years in Devon, when wildflowers gathered on a sunrise walk found their way into a discarded Marmite pot in her Totnes studio. The resulting paintings were quickly collected and later inspired her first commissioned works for London's Daisy Green restaurants and cocktail bars.

Now living in Peyriac-de-Mer in southern France, Dear has amassed a collection of nostalgic British memorabilia of her own. Growing daffodils on her Mediterranean terrace reignited her fascination with those familiar objects and flowers that have an extraordinary ability to transport us back to another place, person or moment.

In 'Brasso', that connection feels particularly evocative. For some, it may recall the ritual of polishing treasured objects until they gleamed; for others, a grandparent's cupboard, a family home or simply packaging remembered from another era. Dear takes those fragments of collective British memory and gives them a vibrant new life.

An entirely new composition rather than a reinterpretation of an existing image, 'Brasso' has been conceived and developed as an original artwork in its own right. Created on aluminium using gloss paint, glitter and sparkling crystals, this 50 × 50cm work combines expressive drawing and jewel-like embellishment with a richly layered surface that comes alive in changing light.

For collectors who find beauty in objects with a past, 'Brasso' is nostalgia without sentimentality; familiar, spirited and gloriously reinvented for the present.

Specifications

• Medium: Original mixed-media work on a slim-profile aluminium panel. Materials include gloss paint, glitter and sparkling crystals.
• Image Size: 50 x 50 x 2cm / 19.68" x 19.68" x 0.78" 

Designed to be displayed unframed, the artwork is created on an aluminium panel with a beautifully slim profile, allowing its contemporary edges to remain exposed as part of the finished presentation. Bespoke framing is also available at an additional charge; we recommend securing the original first, then speaking with our gallery team after purchase to explore framing options tailored to the artwork and your interior if required.