When The Honeymoon Suite opened in 2016, it was with Rose Coloured Glass, an exhibition of work by four artist couples that flirtatiously invited viewers to guess who was dating whom. Rose Coloured Glass wondered: can romance blossom from a shared passion for abstraction? Or vice versa? The Honeymoon Suite was established as a platform to bring emerging and established artists together, and the frisson of intimacy has remained part of its program. From the bodily and material explorations of artists like Marian Tubbs and Kate Newby, to the intertwined collaborations of Isadora Vaughan's Recalcitrant Bodies, 2017, or the dry humour of Jessie Bullivant's Guinness World Records-style certificate Coldest Feet (Living), 2017, it has consistently shown works that explore intimacy in both human relationships and art practice. Hard Feelings, curated by Serena Bentley, declares the honeymoon definitively over. In the Suite's final exhibition before it closes in June, unreasonable, contradictory and sometimes ugly feelings—petulance, resentment, bravado, boredom, jealousy—have risen to the surface. Sarcastic comments and escapist daydreams are eroding the rosy glow of those new beginnings.
