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A n n a I l s l e y

@annailsley

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Wonderful to see everyone last night!

Swaddle, 2025, oil on canvas on board, 30 x 21 cm

Included in Wabi Sabi : Untangling the Meaning of Beauty curated by @marcelle.joseph @paulsmithdesign

until 14 September

Delighted to be part of this beautiful show alongside incredible artists:

C Lucy R Whitehead
Chechu Álava
Gal Schindler
Grace Mattingly
Harriet Gillett
Lindsey Mendick
Sophie von Hellermann
Susie Green

at
Paul Smith Space
9 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BL

Thank you @marcelle.joseph @ktheller @audreydennis_

💖 taken in Paul Smith by @annailsley

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33

4 months ago

Heres a new one:

Three Graces

Oil on canvas on panel

2025

40 x 30 cm

Cos charm grace and beauty are never far from my painting brain

#grace #charm #beauty by @annailsley

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19

10 months ago

Anna Ilsley @annailsley shares how motherhood influences her work.⁠
⁠
"I wasn't expecting our mother-daughter language to enrich my painterly world so much. With children, a world of very visual personification occurs: the full belly of a rain cloud; the sock that refuses to be put on; the monster that hides shoes; the hungry, empty puzzle box; the toothbrush that collects lost animals. I love the blend of the magical and the banal/everyday. It taps into an ancient neurological pathway, maybe? This constant anthropomorphism comes so naturally to children, and adults who spend a lot of time with children lean on it too…⁠
⁠
On a practical note, it is worth saying that I personally did not enter the studio for Gwen's first 6 months. Instead I painted monsters on the bathroom wall, and after that I painted as she napped in the buggy, hours which blissfully lengthened and then stopped. Now at age 5 she mostly comes during the school holidays where the studio is quite rightly a lawless zone: the vilest toys come here, the movies go on and paints are always on tap."⁠
⁠
Artworks by @annailsley featured: ⁠
1. The Quickening, 2023, oil on canvas, 180 x 130 cm⁠
2. Most Wanted, 2022, ink on paper, 25 x 32.5 cm⁠
3. Dolce Far Niente, 2024, oil on cradled board, 30 x 22 cm⁠
⁠
___⁠
⁠
Anna Ilsley’s work is inspired by mythologies and cultural references from across eras and cultures, her paintings and drawings address the physical and emotional impact of motherhood and her intensely strong urge to kick back against the cultural and political forces that shape women’s relationships with their own bodies. ⁠
⁠
#MothersDay #motherhood #drawing by @annailsley

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25

2 years ago

Extremely pleasant to be in the studio painting after school hols.
Accompanied by great conversation with Sunil Gupta on A brush with @benlukeart1 whose show @kettlesyard I’m so looking forward to seeing in a few weeks.
And next week, 🇮🇹Venice 🇮🇹! Pls let me know any recommendations - I’d love- biennial stuff / palazzo / churches and ofc food!!! taken in RAF Bentwaters by @annailsley

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6

a month ago

Here's a new one,

Word of Mouth
2026
Acrylic ink on khadi paper
212 x 303 mm

❤️ by @annailsley

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23

2 months ago

There’s just over a month left to see Wabi Sabi : Untangling the Meaning of Beauty @paulsmithdesign in Mayfair. It’s been a dream to show alongside such incredible artists ive admired for literally years,

C Lucy R Whitehead
Chechu Álava
Gal Schindler
Grace Mattingly
Harriet Gillett
Lindsey Mendick
Sophie von Hellermann
Susie Green

all thanks to wonderful @marcelle.joseph

Here’s Dreamer, Wizard, Prophet, 2025, oil on canvas, 130 x 105 cm

on view until 14.09.26

digital catalogue in the link in bio

Albemarle st, London, W1S 4BL

#wabisabi #contemporarypainting #exhibition #london taken in Paul Smith by @annailsley

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18

2 months ago

Day 4 of the package holiday

Oil on canvas on cradled board

42 x 30 cm

It’s my birthday and I got some very nice messages from my pals so heres one I made with them in mind and that feeling of mischief that you get when you’re away with your best friends. A few of us found ourselves in our 20s and 30s on a particular beach in Spain most summers and by the end of the holiday we each had taken on a different (feral) persona. I was Magdalena, a hench bestial beach witch 💅. We have some pretty explicit videos of our time on that beach which have on occasion been turned into spoof music videos. I fucking miss those holidays. but we’re going to Venice in September so that’s exciting. This small painting expresses something of that female camaraderie and is on view at Paul Smith Space in Wabi Sabi curated by Marcelle Joseph 🎂 by @annailsley

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3 months ago

The Appointment

2025

oil on cradled board

51 x 40 cm

Showing @paulsmithdesign as part of Wabi Sabi: Untangling the Meaning of Beauty, a great honour to be part of this show curated by @marcelle.joseph alongside incredible

C Lucy R Whitehead
Chechu Álava
Gal Schindler
Grace Mattingly
Harriet Gillett
Lindsey Mendick
Sophie von Hellermann
Susie Green

Until September 14th

💙

#wabisabi taken in Paul Smith by @annailsley

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4 months ago

Last Leg

2026

Oil on canvas

180 x 140 cm

as part of Wabi Sabi: Untangling the Meaning of Beauty at @paulsmithdesign curated by @marcelle.joseph

alongside incredible artists

C Lucy R Whitehead
Chechu Álava
Gal Schindler
Grace Mattingly
Harriet Gillett
Lindsey Mendick
Sophie von Hellermann
Susie Green

Until 14.09

all thanks to Marcelle Joseph, @ktheller @audsonart

#contemporarypainting taken in Paul Smith by @annailsley

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4 months ago

Nymph, 2025, oil on canvas, 140 x 180 cm

Crivelli’s The Annunciation and Cranachs Nymph at the Fountain were two of the starting points for this one 🦢

Included in Wabi Sabi: Untangling the meaning of beauty curated by @marcelle.joseph at @paulsmithdesign

Opening tomorrow!
Thursday June 4th 6-8 pm at Paul Smith, Mayfair

with artists

Anna Ilsley
C Lucy R Whitehead
Chechu Álava
Gal Schindler
Grace Mattingly
Harriet Gillett
Lindsey Mendick
Sophie von Hellermann
Susie Green

hope to see you there 🍥 taken in Paul Smith by @annailsley

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4 months ago

Thrilled to be showing some new paintings alongside incredibly talented artists, curated by brilliant @marcelle.joseph at Paul Smith @paulsmithsfoundation

The opening is on Thursday 4th June, 6-8pm at Paul Smith, can’t wait, hope to see you there!

💖

‘Wabi Sabi: Untangling the Meaning of Beauty’ showcases the work of nine female-identifying artists who seek beauty in balance and harmony as well as the imperfection of life:

Anna Ilsley
C Lucy R Whitehead
Chechú Álava
Gal Schindler
Grace Mattingly
Harriet Gillett
Lindsey Mendick
Sophie von Hellermann
Susie Green

Utilising a spare organic line, a pale palette, or a judicious use of negative space, these artists construct harbours of solace in their works in direct contrast to our increasingly chaotic time on planet Earth. This economy of line, form and composition in the works represents an understated aesthetics that could be interpreted as ‘wabi-sabi’.

In many ways, the modest form of expression employed by each artist draws similarities to ikebana - the single flower in a vase that everyone bows to before taking their place at the tea ceremony table. And like the tea ceremony, these artworks emphasise direct experience over verbal explanation, just as wabi-sabi is best understood in a non-verbal experiential way.

Painting and sculpting are activities, ones just like the ancient Japanese arts of the tea ceremony, and the cultivation of bonsai. Like the tranquil simplicity found in these activities, the beauty sought by these nine artists is a state of mind, reminding us to slow down and take comfort in the natural beauty around us, however imperfect or impermanent it may be.

@annailsley
@c.lucy.r.whitehead
@chechualava
@galsschindler
@grace__mattingly
@harrietgillettart
@lindseymendick
@sophievonhellermann
@susiegreen_

Paul Smith Space
9 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BL
Exhibition Dates: 5th June 2026 – 14th September 2026
Opening: 4th June 2026, 6 - 8 pm

Massive thank you to @marcelle.joseph 💜

Image: @sophievonhellermann taken in Paul Smith by @annailsley

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5 months ago

Today is the last day of The Mother Lode

A massive thank you to Tor Cooke and the amazing team @the_artstation

Open 10-4

had a lot of fun making these wall drawings 🧡

DM for details ❤️

#walldrawing by @annailsley

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5 months ago