Daily Quests Exhibition
'Daily Quests' a new exhibition by Hampshire artist Ed Saye ' at Sandham Memorial Chapel which honours the 'quiet intensity of ordinary life' in Stanley Spencer's paintings.
- Booking not needed
- Free event
Daily Quests exhibition at Sandham Memorial Chapel Burghclere 5th March to 3rd May.
Hampshire artis Ed Saye's new exhibition 'Daily Quests' brings together a new body of work created in response to Sir Stanley Spencer's epic paintings inside the chapel.
Saye's paintings enter into a quiet, speculative dialogue with one of the most extraordinary works of British art of the twentieth century. His longstanding admiration for Spencer was reawakened while reflecting on themes of remembrance and everyday ritual for an exhibition at Chapel Arts Studios, Andover in 2025.
Spencer's response to war was so defiantly unwarlike. Not battles, but floors being scrubbed, beds being made bread eaten. Intimate, bodily, repetitive. Profound in their commonplace. He wondered if he could follow that logic ; painting his present , not as spectacle, but as the observance of the routine and ordinary.
Spencer's paintings transform memory into something devotional and immersive. Saye's paintings similarly unfold as a loose, auto biographical cycle, populated by recurring male figures, avatars of the artist himself, who drift through surreal, dusky landscapes suffused with otherworldly glow.
His paintings are full of middle aged men like him playing golf, mowing lawns or eating a meal with the family. They are sometimes pensive, sometimes radiant, sometimes both. There's not much happening, except maybe the low key drama of just being.
Times
The basics
- Suitability
Children are welcome with adult supervision.
- Meeting point
The art will be found in the Exhibition space through the kitchen of the office cottage
- Accessibility
Accessible parking is available at the rear of the property and there is flat wheelchair access from there to the Exhibition .
Upcoming events
Deep Dive into Paintings and First World War Poetry
Come and join us for an immersive deep dive into a Stanley Spencer painting, followed by a First World War poetry reading. Each painting talk and poetry reading lasts approximately 15 minutes.
Quiet Time at Sandham Memorial Chapel
Join us for a quiet hour as we turn down the sounds for a more peaceful and relaxing visit.
Visually Impaired sessions with trained volunteers
We're now offering dedicated sessions for visitors who are visually impaired,. Supported by trained volunteers who can provide tailored, one to one guidance.
Services at Sandham 2026
A religious service led by Rev Mark Christian including references to the paintings of Sir Stanley Spencer in Sandham Memorial Chapel