Carol Burns. Artist Statement.
I am an award-winning contemporary artist whose emotionally resonant abstract paintings explore the layered narratives that shape human experience. Drawn to the complexity of people and the stories we construct - both privately and collectively - my work unfolds through collage, controlled improvisation, and the thoughtful layering of paint, texture, and symbolic detail. Each piece becomes a site of inquiry, examining how memory, meaning, and emotion interact.
Sustainability has become an increasingly central part of my practice. Incorporating recycled materials, found objects, and studio remnants, I transform discarded fragments into works that consider regeneration - both ecological and emotional. For me, art is both a mirror and a door: it reflects our stories, contradictions, and resilience, while opening onto what we might yet become. In uncertain times, my work invites viewers to listen differently, connect more deeply, and imagine more bravely.
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With a background in social justice and qualitative research, I often engage with themes of inequality, endurance, and the climate crisis. This commitment underpins my latest project, The Rooted Age, an expansive visual mythology imagining a post-collapse world transformed by climate change. In this future, nature and fragmented artificial intelligence systems intertwine, evolving into a new biological-technological organism. This emergent intelligence acts as both archive and witness, shaping the mythologies of a world beyond humanity and asking quietly: what comes next?
I have exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including with the Royal West of England Academy of Art, the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, The Mall Galleries in London, and the Venice Biennale. My practice has been featured in Celebrating Women in Art magazine and in the book 101 Contemporary Artists and More.
Bio.
2026
The Path, Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, Venice Biennale, Venice.
eXi, Crypt Gallery, St Pancras, London.
2025
Winner of Visual Artists Association Art 100
Social Justice Art Network Exhibition, Miami Art Week, Miami, USA.
Quote & Curate, The Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London.
Open Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol.
Secret Postcard Auction, Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol.
Voices Of Dissent: Art and Politics, Insights of an Eco Artist Publication, Portugal.
Abstraction, Swindon Open Studios, The Hop Inn, Swindon.
Ilkley Art Open, Ilkley Manor House, West Yorkshire.
Colour, International Juried Competition, Teravarna. (Honourable Mention Award)
Workshop & Exhibition, Net+, The National Trust, Swindon.
Open Exhibition, The Society Of Women Artists, Mall Galleries, London.
The Silent Web - A Mycelium Story, Swindon Fringe Arts Festival, Carriage Works, Swindon
Wonderfully, Remarkably Mundane, (Photography), Swindon Fringe Arts Festival, Wythern Theatre
14th Abstract, International Juried Competition, Teravarna. (Talent Prize Award)
Mortal & Strong, Sidings, Waterloo, London.
Sussex Art Fair, Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester.
Palette x Palate, Old Bank, Dungarvan, Ireland.
Pop Up Gallery, McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, Swindon.
Artist Network Open Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol.
The Secret Postcard Auction, Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, Conwy.
28 (mundane) Days Later (Photography), The Little Hop, Swindon.
EmpowerHER: Creativity, Courage & Magical Thinking, CasildART Contemporary, London.
eXi, Crypt Gallery, St Pancras, London.
Festival Of Tomorrow, Pop Up Gallery, McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, Swindon.
Festival Of Tomorrow, Steam Museum, Swindon.
Externalising The Internal, Haus A Rest, Issue 56.
Light In The Dark, BobCat Gallery, London.
Open Exhibition, Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, Conwy. (Highly Commended Award).
VAA Art 100 - Winner.
VAA Art 500 - Shortlisted.
Homiens - Promoted Artist.
Homiens - Meet The Artist.
VAO - Longlisted.
VAA Artist Of The Year - Longlisted.
VAA International Exhibition and Scholarship Prize - Shortlisted.
Jacksons Art Prize - Extended Longlist.
2024
Here + Now, Oxmarket Contemporary, Chichester.
Loneliness and Poetics 2024 London Contemporary Art Review, Gallery Nat, London. (Excellence Award)
The Secret Postcard Auction, Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol.
The Path, Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, Venice Biennale, Venice.
Stone & Soar, Butley Mills Studio, Suffolk.
A Collection of Abstracts, Swindon Open Studio’s, The Little Hop, Swindon (Solo)
Mortal & Strong Selected Artist, Mortal & Strong Project, London (Exhibition 2025)
Summer Open, Artizan Gallery, Torquay. (Award Winner)
Summer Show, Fox Yard Gallery, Stowmarket.
Open Exhibition, The Society Of Women Artists, Mall Galleries, London.
101 Contemporary Artists & More, Book available via CoA Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Beyond A Joke!, Swindon Fringe Arts Festival, Artsite Postmodern, Swindon.
Artizan Women's Open Exhibition 2024, Artizan Gallery, Torquay.
Women In Art, CoA Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Spring Awakening, Fox Yard Gallery, Stowmarket.
Open Exhibition, The White Horse Gallery, Marlborough.
Fraction, Fox Yard Gallery, Stowmarket. (Best Painting Award)
EmpowerHER: Creativity, Courage & Magical Thinking, CasildART Contemporary, London.
Open Exhibition, Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, Conwy.
Un/Familiar, Fox Yard Gallery, Stowmarket.
Homiens Art Prize - Highly Commended.
VAA Artist Of The Year - Longlisted.
VAO 2024 - Longlisted.
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2023
Open Exhibition, ING Discerning Eye (Selected by Chris Levine), Mall Galleries, London.
Open Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy of Art, Bristol.
Open Exhibition, Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, Conwy.
Open Exhibition, CMAF, Calne.
A Collection of Work, Swindon Open Studio’s, The Hop Inn, Swindon (Solo)
Open Exhibition, The White Horse Gallery, Marlborough.
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2022
Open Exhibition, Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, Conwy.
Abstraction, The Hop Inn, Swindon (Solo)
A Collection of Work, Magnum, Swindon (Solo)
A Collection of Work, The Little Hop, Swindon (Solo)
Contemporary Art Fair, Surrey.
A CV detailing previous years work is available on request.
