Celia Hempton

portrait by ARNAUD LAJEUNIE

auto-erotic internet paintings

interview by ARIELLA WOLENS
portrait by ARNAUD LAJEUNIE

All artworks courtesy of Southard Reid Gallery, London

 

Celia Hempton paints the landscape of genitalia. Working with small-scale, object-like canvases, Hempton paints in a palette that oscillates between garish neons and murky browns. For her most recent solo exhibition at Southard Reid Gallery, in London, the artist chose her subjects by logging on to the chat room site, Chatrandom.com. Hempton proceeded to paint the strangers sitting on the other side of the screen, sometimes engaging in tacit conversations transliterated via message boards, but focusing her efforts on their auto-erotic acts.

Living and working in London, Celia Hempton received her master’s from the Royal College of Art in 2007. She is part of a community of flourishing young artists who come together in both work and play, often exhibiting alongside each…