About Us
Art belongs to the everyday
Our Story
The Sacred in the Everyday a 40,000-Year Lineage, Long before galleries existed or the art world built its walls, art belonged entirely to the earth and to the people who walked it. Deep within pitch-black caves, the first human artists mixed crushed earth with shimmering minerals like mica and hematite. They did not paint for the elite; they painted to make sense of their daily survival.. their shared emotions.. and the world around them. When firelight flickered against those textured walls, the metallic fragments gleamed, turning a cold stone cavern into a sacred, storytelling sanctuary.
At "Not In The Gallery" our practice is a direct continuation of this ancient human instinct. Working with a rich mixed media palette of acrylic and gold leaf, we bridge the gap between the ancient and the modern.
We blend abstraction with gentle notes of surrealism to capture the quiet poetry of modern life, raw human emotion, and the human/masculine/feminine experiences. Just as early humans used glittering minerals to illuminate the dark, we use the quiet radiance of gold leaf to elevate everyday observations—proving that the routine moments of our lives are deeply precious.
We build our work on a simple democratic truth; art is a universal language meant to flow through all walks of life. It is not a luxury to be kept at a distance, but a relatable, daily treat meant to offer comfort, spark connection, and welcome everyone home.
The Founder
Mervat is an emerging mixed media self taught artist in West London (Collectors & Co). She has been painting for years initially with water colours then oils, and for the past 10 years acrylics & resin.
She is a retired doctor who witnessed how art changes and enhances lives through her volunteering with Carshalton Conquest Art 5 years ago.
Her art is deeply relatable, her vision is that art is for everyone not just behind gallery doors, hence the name "Not In The Gallery". She creates simple, subtle yet rebellious visual representation painting with acrylic and gold leaf, Mervat does not follow trends nor conform but instead weaves abstraction with gentle notes of surrealism to turn familiar observations into visual reflections. Her practice is grounded in the belief that art should never feel distant; instead it is a living language meant to flow gracefully through all walks of life. By layering tactile textures with the quiet radiance of metallic leaf, she transforms routine moments into striking accessible visual sanctuaries. Ultimately, Mervat invites viewers from every background to look upon the canvas and see their own joys, struggles, and quiet truths beautifully reflected back at them.
Art is a living language meant to flow through all walks of life