Caroline Forward
Caroline Forward is a contemporary painter working from her garden studio in the Cambridgeshire Fens, where she has lived for nearly 40 years. She has a BA (Hons) in History of Art and Architecture, and has drawn, painted and explored creative processes all her life, taking courses and workshops to challenge and develop her creativity.
In 2025 she was one of sixteen artists on the Fluid Earth residency at Groundwork Gallery, the art and environment gallery in King's Lynn, and presented her work at the Groundwork Conference.
She exhibits regularly in the UK, and shows with Riverside Arts at Cambridge Open Studios each July. Amongst other nationwide exhibitions, her work has been exhibited at the Mall Galleries, London, with New English Art Club and the Royal Society of Marine Artists. She has been selected two years running for the Cromer Open at Cromer Artspace, and at PAINT! there. She was shortlisted in 2026, 2024 and 2020 for the Sir John Hurt Art Award and also this year for the Mannington Nature Award with Holt Art Projects. She has exhibited three years running at the Tarpey Open, plus Refresh there. Her work is held in private and corporate collections across the world and is published in Portraits for NHS Heroes.
Member: Groundwork Gallery Network Associate, ArtCan, Cambridge Drawing Society, Cambridge Open Studios.
Artist Statement
Currently focussing on shorelines, rock surfaces and geological strata, I explore the minutiae of detail on the immense land mass of our living planet. My perspective is shaped by the local and global coastlines I have visited, exploring connections across time and place, considering how we inhabit and impact our environment, and the interconnectivity of land and human experience..
Working in oils and cold wax, I build up layers into which I press textures, reveal marks and incise lines. This slow, physical process mirrors in some ways the formation of natural phenomena which inspire me and reflects ongoing life cycles of growth, erosion, ageing and renewal. I explore how geological elements fracture, separate, transform and re-settle where they can, as coastal areas shift and change through erosion, climate change and human impact. In a time of environmental uncertainty and rapid change, my work offers a space to slow down and pay close attention to what is often overlooked.