On view at John Martin Gallery in London from 11 June to 4 July 2026, A Studio on the Côte d’Azur presents a group of recent paintings by the Scottish artist Leon Morrocco inspired by the landscapes, villages and distinctive light of southern France. Focusing on the area around Nice, Gourdon and Roquefort-les-Pins, the exhibition reflects the artist’s longstanding engagement with places shaped by colour, atmosphere and architecture.

Born in Edinburgh in 1942, Morrocco belongs to a generation of Scottish artists whose careers were defined by travel. After studying at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, the Slade School and Edinburgh College of Art, scholarships took him to Italy, where an encounter with Mediterranean light and European painting would have a lasting impact on his practice.

Travel has remained central to Morrocco’s work. Drawing directly from observation, he has spent decades filling sketchbooks across Europe, North Africa, India and the Caribbean before developing paintings in the studio. The works occupy a space between documentation and memory.

That approach is evident throughout A Studio on the Côte d’Azur. Depictions of hillside villages, olive groves and sunlit façades are rendered through vibrant colour and fluid drawing. While rooted in specific locations, the paintings are less concerned with topographical accuracy than with conveying the experience of place.

The Côte d’Azur has long occupied a prominent place in the history of modern art, attracting figures from Renoir and Bonnard to Matisse and Chagall. Morrocco’s paintings do not directly revisit that legacy, but they participate in a tradition in which landscape serves as a catalyst for painterly experimentation. Rich blues, ochres and greens reflect both the chromatic intensity of the region and the artist’s enduring interest in colour as a structural element.

Now in his eighties, Morrocco continues to paint with remarkable energy and curiosity. The works in this exhibition demonstrate a commitment to observation and the enduring possibilities of landscape painting. Rather than offering a record of travel, A Studio on the Côte d’Azur explores how light can enhance painting.

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