MOTHER AND THISTLE

Eve Leibe Gallery is pleased to present Mother and Thistle, a debut solo exhibition of paintings by Swiss artist Seline Burn. 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.

Text by Adeola Gay

Adeola Gay is a writer and art critic from London and the founder of The Other Art Girl. Inspired by the work of women artists, Gay launched The Other Art Girl in 2020, a digital platform aimed at amplifying the voices of underrepresented artists. She began her career at Sotheby’s, and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins. She is currently an Associate at Artsy

Seline Burn (b.1995) is an artist based in Basel, Switzerland. Her painting, which draws influences from Symbolism, conjures evocative images where intimacy and radical strangeness are delicately balanced in a practice that she understands as an on-going personal diary.

Solo Exhibitions
2022 Eve Leibe Gallery , London, UK

Group Exhibitions
2022 'International Women's Day Auction', Art on a Postcard, London, UK
2021 ' Arte in Nuvola' , Andrea Festa Fine Art , Rome, Italy
2021 'In a New Light', ArtCityWorks , London, UK
2019 'Werkschau', Diploma Exhibition, Lucerne, Switzerland
2017 'Impression', Café Arlecchino, Lucerne, Switzerland
2016 'Annual Exhibition', SfG Basel, Basel, Switzerland

Education
2019 Bachelor in Illustration Fiction , HSLU, Lucerne, Switzerland
2016 Design Propaedeutic, Basel School of Design , Basel, Switzerland

Portrait image by Oliver Hochstrasser