The Catto Gallery has been displaying both fine art and more modern pieces for more than 20 years, with work from lesser-known, sometimes more experimental, artists running alongside the main solo shows upstairs. 

The current solo exhibit is of Richard Twose, which runs until February 27 to make room for Rachel Deacon, who will be displayed until March 20.

After coming second in the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2014, Richard Twose became a fulltime artist.

His work is playful, a description not too common among contemporary practitioners of painting but often associated with other art forms.

He says: “Very often, when I am confronted with an ambitious installation in some prestigious setting – a major museum such as Tate Modern - I find myself murmuring under my breath: ‘yes, this is really an enormous playpen for not-quite grown-ups – Donald Trump might enjoy romping in it with President Putin.’”

For subsequent exhibitor Rachel Deacon, it will be her third show at the Catto since her debut in 2012. In their composition her paintings of women echo back to the classical masters’ archetypal view of women, nymphs or mothers, but she has brought this classic style into the contemporary realm with her bold colours and shapes.

Catto Gallery, 100 Heath Street, Hampstead, NW3 1DP. Details: 020 7435 6660