Browse & Darby is delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition of works by Susan Wilson (b.1951). Wilson’s recent body of work is rooted in exploration of London’s urban landscape, still life, and the human condition.
Her artistic journey has long been shaped by her surroundings, particularly the dynamic and multicultural neighbourhoods of Notting Hill and Ladbroke Grove, near to her North Kensington studio since 1985. As a young artist at Camberwell School of Art, Wilson found inspiration in the vibrant life of Portobello Road. Along this road vegetable stalls, Spanish shops, fishmongers, and antique markets have provided a rich source of still-life subjects.
Urban landscapes also feature prominently in Wilson’s recent paintings, capturing the changing light and atmosphere of West London’s streets. Grenfell Tower, visible from her studio window, appears in of her work on a spring day (After the Grenfell Fire, 2024), while Bassett Road, a street she has painted in both daylight and at night, reveals different aspects of its quiet beauty (Bassett Road by Day, Ladbroke Grove, 2024). Most recently, Wilson has painted Trellic Tower, designed by the architect Erno Goldfinger.
Wilson’s practice took an even more introspective turn in recent years, as she remained close to home due to the decline of her husband, Ed, who lived with Parkinson’s. During this period, she created a moving series of self-portraits and portraits of Ed, capturing both his heroic resilience and the gradual grip of illness. “I am always interested in what is happening to the brain, because of my nursing work as a young woman,” Wilson reflects. “Ed was heroic in how he lived with his disability. He was interested in my paintings even though they showed the grip of the illness. I was his carer, but I kept painting.”
Born in New Zealand, Wilson moved to London in 1976 to attend Camberwell School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. She was made a Fellow of Cheltenham & Gloucester College and has been awarded the Richard Ford Award to Madrid and The Prado, an Italian Government Scholarship to Venice and the Veneto and the British School at Rome Abbey Award. In 2000 she painted a series of works illustrating Katherine Mansfield’s Short Stories for the FOLIO Society, which then toured around New Zealand, as well as being exhibited at Browse & Darby.
