Rosemary Burn
Contemporary British Figurative Painting. Portraits, landscapes, still life, semi abstract. Works in notable collections worldwide. Commissions welcome
2021, Amalgam, The Space Theatre, London
1991, City Racing, London
2023, Shortlisted for the 10th Art Gemini Prize
2023, 2nd place runner up, Teravarna 7th landscape international competition, and Artists Grant awards
2023, interview with James Thomas, BBC Radio Wiltshire
2023, Collectors Art Prize, Contemporary Art Curators magazine
2023, Featured in Pomegranate magazine, London
2021 Featured at Arterynyc online gallery
2020, Featured in House and Garden magazine
2020, Artist of the future award, Contemporary art curator magazine
2002, Featured in the book ‘City Racing, the life and times of an artist run gallery’
2024, Shh, the Artcan secret auction, online
2024, Represented by Opulent Art Gallery at Artsy
2024, Shortlisted for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Exhibition, Mall Galleries London
2024, Art on a postcard auction, The Bomb Factory, Covent Garden London
2023, ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries London
2023, Society of Wildlife Artists 60th anniversary exhibition, Mall Galleries London
2023, Shortlisted artists 10th Art Gemini Prize exhibition, Zari Gallery London
2023, Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London
2023, Art on a postcard, The AOP Gallery, online
2023, Anniversary 10x10, ArtCan, Hansard Studio London
2023, The Power of Pencil, ArtCan 10th anniversary exhibition
2023, Figurative Art spring exhibition, Open Gallery Halifax
2022, Royal Society of Marine Artists, Mall Galleries London
2022, Wells Art Contemporary, Wells Cathedral
2022, Green and Stone Summer Online Exhibition
2022, Art in Mind, Brick Lane Gallery, London
2022, International Art Fair, Paris
2022, Group exhibition, Van Gogh Gallery, Madrid
2022, Artexpo New York
2021, Figurative Art Now, Mall Galleries London
2021, Alessandro Berni Gallery New York. Gallery representation
2021, Tom Zaw Fine Art, Hoddesdon Herts, Gallery representation
2021, Reflections, Arte Borgo Gallery, Rome
2021, Canvas - Mixing Identities, London International Art Fair, THE LINE, contemporary art space, London
2021, Infinite Dreams, Contemporary Art Curator magazine online exhibition
2020, Royal Institute of oil painters exhibition, Mall Galleries, London,
2020, Featured in House and Garden magazine
2020, shortlisted to exhibit, BP portrait award, National Portrait Gallery, London
2019, Royal Institute of Oil Painters exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2019, Florence Biennale, Fortezza da Basso, Florence
2019, Art Screen TV Digital Exhibition, Gallerie du Marche Prestige, Montreux, Switzerland
2018, Royal Society of Oil Painters exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
2018, Gallery representation, New Blood Art
1990, Group exhibition, The Showroom, London
1984, International Garden Festival, International Garden Festival, Liverpool
1984, Christie's Inaugural, Christie's, London
Part of my intention is to make unusual the usual; the everyday visual experiences which we all encounter and mostly dismiss as unimportant, not worth a second glance. The works are crafted from moments; those snippets of time and from which I can find a story in the background, such as a dripping bath tap and the light carried in the ripples, a fly on the wall, the fleeting expression on a face, a nameless place. It seems to me that these happenings underpin our existence; big events, highs and lows, come and go but the insignificant and fleeting remain and repeat, like a constant hum in the background.
The nature of each brushstroke, and the texture of the paint also play an important part in the translation of the seen, into a blurring between the representational and the semi abstract, the patterns which often escape our notice.
I work every day searching for an alchemy between paint, subject and moment. When I studied at Chelsea School of Art I was making sculpture, but the intention behind the work was similar. Works from those times include a bicycle abandoned on its side with its back wheel perpetually turning, so the scene of an accident was kept alive for an infinite length of time, a remote controlled leg of lamb, a huge flying saucepan which had come to rest skewered by the sword of a swordfish held upright by a fisherman (both plaster casts).
Although my life is a busy one with many commitments - I am also a classical pianist, (and I teach the piano), not being creative in some way every day has never been possible for me. I love every minute!
About the artist
Rosemary Burn is a British figurative painter based in the UK, whose works have been exhibited in Italy, Germany, the United States, and throughout the United Kingdom. Several of her paintings are held in notable collections. She approaches her artistic process with a sense of quietude, concerning herself with the objective examination of the present, telling stories of day to day life. In the bathwater and raindrop pieces, as well as others, there is a merging between the representational, abstraction and freedom of expression. Her compositions are created using oil paints on synthetic board and canvas.
A loaded stillness is present in many of the paintings, and the use of fluid brushstrokes and lighting enhance the sculptural, three dimensional aspect of her subjects. She has a longstanding interest in the paranormal and the possibility of other realms; other subjects of interest which are sometimes evident within the paintings are transitory states of existence (melting, freezing, evaporation), and time.
Rosemary studied sculpture at Chelsea School of Art, London, gaining an MA in fine art. She also studied the piano at Trinity College of Music, London, and is an accomplished classical pianist with an LTCL performers diploma
Although only relatively recently becoming a painter, she has been included several prestigious exhibitions at the Mall Galleries, London, Florence Biennale 2019, London International Art Fair 2020, and Wells Art Contemporary 2022. Her work is held in notable collections around the world .