Dadbrook Gallery is holding an exhibition of etchings and original prints by Sir Terry Frost (1915-2003), one of the most celebrated post-war abstract artists in the UK, who remains an influential figure in British art. The gallery will also be showing work by his son Anthony, whose work is imbued with a similar desire to communicate emotion through colour and form.

Sir Terry’s first prints were made at Stalag 383, a prisoner-of-war camp in Bavaria where he was incarcerated from 1941 till the end of the war. They were crude woodcuts using pieces of timber from floorboards, bunk beds — anything he could scrounge. After the war he enrolled at Camberwell School of Art, and came under the tutelage of another great printmaker, Victor Pasmore. He completed his training in St Ives as assistant to sculptor Barbara Hepworth. His works weave a dream language and seem to float above reality. He was certain and precise in his creation of shapes. He seemed to create an inner eye that brought a deep understanding of colour and light. His joyful personality added great strength to all his work.

Although he could occasionally be found sitting in Mulligan’s Bar in Cork Street with a red beret, green glasses and a pint of Guinness that he would dilute with a bottle of champagne, his inspiration was Cornish, from the sea, the light and reflections on the water.

The exhibition is accompanied by his newly published catalogue raisonné: Terry Frost Prints. The author, Dominic Kemp, will talk about Sir Terry Frost, his inspiration and his print making process tonight.

Terry’s son Anthony, who lives in Cornwall, has written the foreword. He says of his father: “By the end of his life, much like Henri Matisse, he could create simplified and beautiful prints with absolute clarity, which came from a lifetime of working with colour, shape and form. His most successful ones he would say had in them ‘Everything and Forever’.

The gallery will show a selection of Anthony’s limited edition prints as well as his father’s work. The exhibition runs from tomorrow until June 17, 11am-6pm daily. Further information please call: 077 76201062 or 01844 292459. dadbrookgallery.co.uk