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Rose Sanderson’s series of surreal paintings on vintage postcards has reached 50 works and will be exhibited at Aberystwyth Arts Centre from November 11 to December 23, 2026. A limited-edition book featuring the works will also be available; further details about the book and exhibition have not been provided.
Rose Sanderson’s series of surreal paintings on vintage postcards has reached 50 works and is scheduled to go on view at Aberystwyth Arts Centre from November 11 to December 23. A limited-edition book featuring all the works is also planned, bringing the artist’s pandemic-era exploration of nostalgia, seaside memories and strange imagined scenes into a gallery exhibition.
Sanderson paints unexpected scenes over vintage postcard images: an enormous crab appears poised to cross a crowded beach, a tiger rests beside an unsuspecting man, and a jagged fissure cuts through the landscape around an amusement park. The source report describes the works as combining uncanny imagery with humor, rather than presenting the scenes as straightforward horror.
The artist told Colossal that the series began during the early days of the pandemic, when she started exploring “escapism and imagination, mixing reality and fiction, and the blurring of childhood memories and nostalgia.” She said many scenes are set in seaside towns, drawing on her experience of growing up in one during the 1980s and 1990s.
Sanderson has collected the postcards for several years from thrift stores, antique shops, markets and online retailers. The collection also builds on postcards gathered by her grandparents. According to the report, the planned book will feature all 50 paintings. Dates for the exhibition are given, but the source does not provide opening hours, ticket information or publication details for the book.
From Collected Cards to Gallery
The exhibition gives audiences a chance to see a complete, defined body of work that began with small, mass-produced images of familiar places. By painting into the cards rather than creating each scene on a blank surface, Sanderson places fantastical events inside images shaped by tourism, memory and everyday history. That contrast is central to the series’ effect: the postcard remains recognizable while its scene becomes unpredictable.
The project also connects a personal practice to a public presentation. Sanderson has described the work as a response to the pandemic’s harsh realities, using imagination and nostalgia as a form of escape. The exhibition and book make the resulting series accessible beyond individual images encountered online, though the available announcement does not specify how the works will be displayed or reproduced.
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A Pandemic-Era Postcard Project
Sanderson began the series in the early days of the pandemic, according to her comments reported by Colossal. Her stated interests include the overlap between fiction and reality, childhood recollections and nostalgia. The coastal settings draw on her own upbringing in a seaside town in the 1980s and 1990s.
The vintage cards are not simply visual references: Sanderson said she likes their aged, saturated colors and the feeling of history contained in “snippets” of the past. Her grandparents had already started a postcard collection, and she has added to it through secondhand shops, markets and online sources. The source identifies the forthcoming exhibition and book, but does not provide a broader account of the artist’s previous exhibitions or the series’ earlier public showings.
““I started playing with escapism and imagination, mixing reality and fiction, and the blurring of childhood memories and nostalgia.””
— Rose Sanderson, speaking to Colossal
Exhibition and Book Details Pending
The exhibition dates and venue are reported, but the available source does not state admission arrangements, opening hours, the number of paintings that will be physically displayed, or whether the show includes any material beyond the postcard works. It also does not provide the book’s price, format, release date, retailer or how to order it.
The source reports that the series has reached 50 paintings and that the book will feature all of them. It does not give further details about the individual works’ sizes, materials or production process, beyond describing them as paintings made on vintage postcards. No additional statements from the arts centre or publication are included.
Aberystwyth Show Opens in November
The exhibition is scheduled to run at Aberystwyth Arts Centre from November 11 through December 23, 2026. The source also says a limited-edition book featuring the full series will be available. Readers seeking practical information will need to watch for updates from Sanderson or the arts centre, particularly on opening hours, access, and the book’s release and availability.
Key Questions
When and where will Rose Sanderson’s postcard paintings be exhibited?
The exhibition is scheduled for Aberystwyth Arts Centre from November 11 to December 23, 2026.
How many paintings are in the series?
The source report says Sanderson’s series has reached 50 paintings.
What appears in Sanderson’s paintings?
The scenes combine vintage postcard settings with surreal additions, including an oversized crab on a beach, a tiger beside a man and a fissure near an amusement park.
Will there be a book of the artworks?
Yes. A limited-edition book featuring all the works is planned. Its publication date, price and ordering information have not been reported.
What inspired the postcard series?
Sanderson told Colossal that she began the work during the early days of the pandemic, exploring escapism, imagination, nostalgia and memories of growing up in a seaside town.
Source: thisiscolossal.com
