This month, I’m collaborating with Eve Leibe Gallery to present an exciting solo exhibition of paintings by Seline Burn 💜

This week, Swiss artist Seline Burn will open her debut solo show, Mother and Thistle, at Eve Leibe Gallery (exciting 🐥). If you’re in the mood for some great art then please join us at the east London space!

Taking part of its name from the prickly leaved flower, Mother and Thistle gazes beneath the surface, examining themes of motherhood, protection and freedom. Bridging connections between subject and viewer, Burn’s new body of work confronts her inner thoughts, navigating familial relationships and revisiting childhood memories.

Comprising eleven figurative paintings, the exhibition brings together intimate moments, inviting the viewer to engage with Burn’s inner world. Embedded in powerful imagery, smooth surfaces are enlivened by narratives of joy and pain. With deliberate strokes, Burn mirrors her personal experiences growing up as the second of seven siblings, allowing herself to be vulnerable through her practice.

Mother and Thistle expresses uncomfortable truths, existing as a visual embodiment of self-exploration. Drawing upon past memories, Burn’s large-scale paintings are anchored by raw emotion. Figures appear against haunting backdrops that are saturated with vibrant colour and painted with careful brushwork. Playing with light and shadow, the Basel-based artist captures the nuances of interpersonal relationships while embracing life’s uncertainties.

Often working directly from reference images, Burn translates her deepest thoughts onto her canvases, communicating many ideas using colour. Punctuated by soft shades of violet, Burn’s oil paintings depict feelings of safety and nostalgia. Similarly, her use of neon green pigment embodies a strength and resilience that the artist likens to many of the women in her life. Burn balances a methodical approach to figuration with an intuitive approach to colour, guiding her compositions using contrasting hues.

Employing symbolic motifs, Burn portrays tender scenes between her painted subject matter. In Mary Had a Little Lamb, a figure embraces a wolf, toeing the line between reality and myth. Elsewhere in Untitled, a figure curls into a fetal position, gazing protectively over a luminous pearl. Each painting engages in a conversation with the next, unveiling hidden narratives that reflect upon Burn’s experiences as a woman.

The gestural lines and forms employed by Burn often blend together harmoniously, creating a sense of hope. Mother and Thistle invites the viewer to contemplate the many facets of motherhood from the perspective of both mother and child, reflecting on how these conflicting emotions can exist concurrently.

On May 15th, I’ll be giving a curatorial tour of Mother and Thistle at Eve Leibe Gallery! If you’d like to join, RSVP here :) there will be wine and cheese 🧀