Saatchi Gallery will open an exhibition of works by Helen Bur in one of its main gallery spaces on Friday, November 12, 2021. The exhibition will be open to the public through December 5, 2021 with free admission.
In this new body of works by artist Helen Bur, painted figures are captured in moments of quiet action, self-reflection and stillness. Obscured in the pause of a gesture and imbued with a sense of the surreal, Bur sensitively depicts those around her as fragments of the bigger picture. Her interest in activism and the power of groups for change, intersects with a more deeply personal reflection: in what moments, or through what means, can one come to know oneself and others?
Combining lose gestural marks with traditionally influenced figuration, we are invited to pause, come to stillness in a moment of motion and experience the subtle nuances of emotion that can be felt and held on the canvas surfaces. Silent Shout features works that encourage the viewer to question how we need others to truly understand ourselves. In the words of Sophie Mak-Schram, “Bur’s paintings silently make sound, gesture rather than say, and come to stillness in a moment of motion, They hover in the moment of becoming…transforming…about to make some noise”.
