“Worship Paintings”, by Tanya Ling - at The Mayor Gallery

Worship Paintings, Tanya Ling’s second solo exhibition at The Mayor Gallery, signals a profound shift in her artistic journey. For the first time, the London-based artist (b. 1966, Calcutta) employs oil on linen to create a series of large-scale, monochromatic line paintings, each a testament to patience, precision, and devotion.

These works transcend mere imagery; they are physical manifestations of ritual. Ling commits to a single pigment per canvas, executing uninterrupted, deliberate lines that transform painting into a durational act of focus and surrender. The result is neither symbolic nor representational, but rather an embodiment of lived practice, where process eclipses image.

Ling’s path to painting was unconventional. After studying at Central Saint Martins and co-founding the Bipasha Ghosh gallery in the 1990s, she gained renown as a fashion illustrator (notably for British Vogue) and designer before fully embracing fine art in 2014. Worship Paintings crystallizes her transition, merging the disciplined elegance of fashion with the spiritual rigor of abstraction.

A meditation on presence, materiality, and the act of making, this exhibition invites viewers to witness time made visible.

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