Current Exhibition

Deborah Burnstone

Deborah is a London-based multi-media artist. She graduated in fine art from Goldsmiths College in 1999. 

Ships and boats are a recurring motif in Deborah Burnstone’s films, installations and paintings. As well as being an ancient and vital human means of transport, boats are a poetic symbol of spirituality, mortality, change, longing and adventure. The works in this show were painted between 2020 and 2026 and can be roughly grouped into three categories: exploration of the ship as a symbol; awe for the majesty of huge trade ships; and empathy for human beings they transport.

The paintings of commercial vessels come from Deborah’s walks along the banks of the Thames estuary where giant container ships and bulk carriers glide silently past dwarfing everything around them. The paintings featuring people in boats were made in response to reports of migrants fleeing war, persecution and poverty making perilous sea crossings in small boats in the hopes of a better life. The sea has always provided a means for human immigration to British shores, from the Anglo-Saxons, Romans and the Normans to more recent arrivals. ‘I feel an affinity with people risking everything to cross the sea; my own ancestors arrived on ships from Poland and Russia more than a century ago to escape poverty and persecution to make a new life on these shores,’ Deborah says.

Deborah is fascinated by colour and its power to create atmosphere and mood, as well as conjure up light and dark and describe space. Her paintings may be figurative, but she never forgets that they are an accumulation of marks, smears, shapes, textures, drips and brush strokes.

The Gallery Open Days

Sarah Nelson Studio is currently open by appointment only. Next exhibition in the Gallery, ‘Sea Passages’ by Deborah Burnstone, launch party, May 22nd 6-8.30pm. Gallery open Saturday 23rd May 11-4pm. Exhibition runs until July 19th.