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Artists in Conversation: Cecily Brown and Celia Paul

6 Jul 2026 7-8pm

Serpentine
London W2 3XA (Serpentine South), W2 2AR (Serpentine North)

Overview

Join artists Cecily Brown and Celia Paul for a live conversation exploring their individual approaches to painting, daily studio practices and the images that continue to inspire them.

While their artistic sensibilities differ significantly, Brown and Paul share a deep commitment to painting as a means of looking, memory and transformation. Drawing on a vast range of visual sources, Brown creates dynamic, richly layered canvases, animated by vigorous brushwork, luminous colour and a continual play between revelation and abstraction. In contrast, Paul’s intimate portraits and self-portraits explore the emotional depths of lived experience with sensitivity and restraint. Her work combines emotional intensity with stillness, inviting sustained reflection on the relationship between inner and outer worlds.

Their shared fascination with colour, painterly process and art history is reflected in an exchange of letters excerpted in the exhibition catalogue Cecily Brown: Picture Making. These writings offer a glimpse into the affinities and differences that shape their practices.

Please note that the exhibition will remain open until 7 pm on the day.

Price: £10, £8 conc.
 

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