Borders

Above: Detail of Father and Daughter, Calais Jungle – Oil and Collage 81x105cm ©Helen de Sybel 2018

Private View:  Friday 25 June.  Please book – six half hour slots available from 6pm, gallery closes 9pm

Highgate Gallery is pleased to host Borders, an exhibition of paintings by de Sybel.  Working in acrylic, oil, collage, charcoal and mixed media, she creates intense and forceful images, with an emphasis on the figure depicted in landscape or cityscape.  Colour, dynamic line and challenging themes forge a powerful connection with the onlooker.

Child Refugee, acrylic and pastel on paper 15x20cm ©Helen de Sybel 2019

Borders first grew out of a deeply felt reaction to the plight of the refugees in the ‘Calais Jungle’ (2016).  Through the medium of oil paint and collage she references the conditions of war and displacement that have driven many of these individuals and their families from their countries of origin to seek a better life.

“In this body of work, I have become interested in the separation between the figures which struggle to remain ‘whole’ and the surrounding hostile and unstable landscape in which they find themselves.” de Sybel

On the way, acrylic and ink, 12x30cm ©Helen de Sybel 2019

“The characters who populate these canvasses are highly ambiguous, in singles and in pairs, sometimes running, sometimes hiding or following or being followed.  Much is left open for the viewer to interpret in these charged, vital, expressionistic works.

As the series evolved, de Sybel continued to delve into the interior world of metaphorical boundaries, of transgressions and borders crossed, of personal alienation.”  Philip Stoltzfus (collector)

About the artist
De Sybel studied Art History in Italy and went on to train at Harrow and Camberwell School of Art where she gained a BA (hons) and was selected as part of Christie’s Pick of the Graduates.  She works from her canal-side studio and exhibits regularly with galleries and as part of the Shoreditch Community.

In 2015 de Sybel completed an installation comprising twelve paintings and collages depicting scenes from the Old Testament. This polyptych is currently touring London churches and has been combined with Artist Residences at St Peters de Beauvoir, Hackney, St Paul’s Church, Bow Common and most recently St. Martin’s Church, Gospel Oak.

Recent exhibitions include Works on Paper at the Shipton Gallery, and British Paintings II at the Project Space, Bermondsey.  Major projects have also included a series of collages based on Milton’s Paradise Lost, now in private collections in the UK and the US, and Urban Journeys (oil and mixed media), an exploration of the human condition depicted through uncertainty and isolation.

Artist’s Talk
Tuesday 6 July 2021, 3.30pm (approx 1 hour)

The artist will talk about the background to, and evolution of her work, including her techniques.

Chris Brice, Chair of the London Churches Refugee Fund, will discuss the work of this important charity, which will receive 30% of all artwork sales.

Please book a seat. Free to all.

For further information please contact: Helen de Sybel

Website:  helendesybel.com

Exhibition co-ordinator for Highgate Gallery: Jason Sumray

30% of all sales of work in this exhibition will go to London Churches Refugee Fund.

This event is part of Highgate Festival