Elisabeth Deane
Inspired by traditional Islamic geometry and miniature paintings of India and Iran, British artist Elisabeth Deane blurs the boundary between ancient artistic techniques and contemporary representations through her vibrant and meticulously rendered artworks.
Working with the Masters of miniature painting at The Prince's Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London as well as abroad in India has most heavily influenced and continues to energise her artistic practice.
If you’d like to know more about her works, please visit her website or her Instagram.
About:
Elisabeth Deane is a Londoner and became a full-time professional artist about five years ago. She has obtained a BA in History of Art, an MA in the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas from the University of East Anglia, and a PGCE in Art & Design from the University of Cambridge. While studying at the University of Cambridge in 2011, she won the Helga Todd Foundation Award and spent two months staying and working in Santiniketan, West Bengal thereafter. It was this extraordinary experience that intrigued her to explore the realm of Indian art. Subsequently, Deane travelled back to India in 2013 and again in 2018 to learn artistic traditions under Master miniature painters in Rajasthan. Click here to see her artistic practice in an interview with BBC World Service.
Elisabeth Deane, Petals and Water, 2020. Italian gold leaf, natural pigments and Arabic gum on handmade Indian hemp paper, 500 x 522 mm.
“My aim is to yield delight and joy through the geometric arrangement of colour.”
Elisabeth Deane, The Illuminated Carpet, 2019. Italian gold leaf, palladium leaf, shell gold, natural pigments and Arabic gum on handmade Indian hemp paper, 1460 x 940 mm.
Working with the geometry of miniature style paintings requires intense focus and a calm mental state. To fully immerse herself in this type of painting method, Deane must remove all other distractions to work in an almost meditative state. The nature of her vibrant and detailed brushwork brings on a true state of flow by connecting the physicality of the self to the spiritual world.
Elisabeth Deane, My Persian Studio, 2019. Gold leaf, shell gold, natural pigments and Arabic gum on Fabriano paper, 317 x 223 mm.
Deane continuously explores the relationships between colour, harmony, and natural pigments through her artworks. A considerable number of pigments she uses are stone-based, including lapis lazuli, malachite, and cinnabar, which are all sourced from the earth and then painstakingly ground by hand. Deane’s investigation into intricate patterns and colour relationships brings out vibrations that sing. The otherworldly, abstract, and geometric nature of her work brings viewers into a serene state of mind and enables them to detach for a moment from an ever-changing world.
Elisabeth Deane, The Sun (Aten), 2019. Italian gold leaf and tempera on linen, 1800 x 1800 mm.
Having just finished a small body of work that is heading to Art Dubai 2022 with Grosvenor Gallery, Deane’s most recent works consist of four small postcard pieces for the International Women's Day 'Art on a Postcard' auction to help raise money for the Hepatitis C Trust. Additionally, she is working on some cosmic pieces in egg tempera and a large-scale geometric piece. Click here to view her pieces, Lot 447 to Lot 450, from the 'Art on a Postcard' auction.
Elisabeth Deane, Untitled, 2022. Gold Leaf, Platinum Leaf, Natural Pigments and Arabic Gum, Lapis Lazuli, Carmine, Spinel Black, Zinc White and Orange Gouache, 150 x 100 mm x 4.
Selected Solo Exhibition
2019 ‘Rhythmic Measures,’ Grosvenor Gallery, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 RA Summer Exhibition 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2021 ‘Carpet Pages IV’ Collaborative miniature painting with artists from around the globe, with curator, Vaishali Prazmari.
2020 ‘Twelve/Twenty’ End of Year Show’, Grosvenor Gallery, London
2020 Abu Dhabi Art Fair online with Grosvenor Gallery, London
2020 ‘South Asian Art: 1820-2020’, Asian Art in London, Grosvenor Gallery, London. By appointment at the London gallery and online.
2020 ‘Carpet Pages III: Pixels’ online with curator, Vaishali Prazmari.
2020 Art Dubai in London ‘Aspects of Geometry’, Grosvenor Gallery, London
Awards
2018 Finalist Asian Art in London Emerging Artist Award
2015-2017 The Albukhary Foundation Scholarship
2017 The Temple Gallery Bursary
Danni Han
Emerging Artists Co-Editor, MADE IN BED