Paintings by the 2016 Jerwood Painting Fellows Francesca Blomfield, Archie Franks and Dale Lewis feature in touring exhibition finale.

Norwich Evening News: Dale Lewis, Acid Man's Funeral, oil on canvas, 2016?. Image: SuppliedDale Lewis, Acid Man's Funeral, oil on canvas, 2016?. Image: Supplied (Image: Archant)

Works by three painters selected from over 400 applications as the 2016 Jerwood Painting Fellows have gone on display in Norwich.

The exhibition in the East Gallery of Norwich University of Arts features new works by Francesca Blomfield, Archie Franks and Dale Lewis, who were selected from amongst upcoming UK-based artists with up to five years practice.

This is the third edition of the Jerwood Painting Fellowships, launched by Jerwood Charitable Foundation in 2010 to provide critical support for exceptional painters embarking on professional careers.

Norwich Evening News: Francesca Blomfield, Today is newer than yesterday, oil on canvas, 2016. Picture: SubmittedFrancesca Blomfield, Today is newer than yesterday, oil on canvas, 2016. Picture: Submitted (Image: � Hydar Dewachi)

Selected from over 400 applicants, the latest trio undertook a year-long mentorship with three eminent UK painters: Phoebe Unwin, Jane Harris and Dan Coomb. Each has also received a bursary to support the development of their practice.

The collection of works on show for the first time vary in scale from small canvasses to large-scale works and are the product of three diverse and individual voices.

Francesca Blomfield's latest series of works take limousine interiors, Tagliatelle, and human hair as the basis for experimenting with colour systems and painterly textures.

Norwich Evening News: Francesca Blomfield, Tarantualas Do Roam, oil on canvas, 2016. Picture: SubmittedFrancesca Blomfield, Tarantualas Do Roam, oil on canvas, 2016. Picture: Submitted (Image: � Hydar Dewachi)

Her mentor Phoebe Unwin said: 'During the Fellowship, Francesca and I have visited each other's studios and seen shows together. I have seen her experiment and take creative risks, as well as build on and refine her painting approach in very interesting ways. She has used chalky colour, pattern and dramatic changes in scale to explore her subjects of relics and notions of 'authentic' communication.'

Archie Franks' works manipulate familiar motifs from the art historical past and contemporary life mixing elevated and commonplace subject matter. The paintings and watercolours are dreamlike and give form to intangible and allusive sensations.

His mentor Jane Harris said: 'In developing both his paintings and watercolours, Archie has been creating compelling works of disquieting wit and atmosphere.'

Norwich Evening News: Dale Lewis, Tarka Dal, oil on canvas, 2016? Picture: SubmittedDale Lewis, Tarka Dal, oil on canvas, 2016? Picture: Submitted (Image: Archant)

Drawing largely upon personal memories and associations, Dale Lewis's large-scale works are humorous and unsettling. Tableaux of bodies dining in restaurants, strolling along boulevards, sunbathing or convulsing in orgies are composed along classical lines.

Focusing on banal and under-represented aspects of life, the vigour and energy with which the works are made complement the rawness of the urban environments he depicts.

'Over the past months Dale has released years of experience onto the canvas. The subjects he paints range from the tragic, the dramatic, the funny, the unnerving, to the stupid. The results are felt-out, funny, and real,' explains his mentor Dan Coombs.

The exhibition has been touring the UK with Norwich its final destination.

Dr Caroline Fisher, Curator of East Gallery NUA , said: 'This exhibition is particularly exciting because we are not only presenting the work of three remarkable early career artists, but the outcome of a relationship and the shared passions and experiences of the fellows and their mentors.'

• Jerwood Painting Fellowships, The East Gallery, NUA, St Andrews Street, Norwich, until April 1,Tues-Sat 12pm-5pm, admission free, 01603 886385, www.nua.ac.uk/thegallery