CHANTAL BARNES

Chantal Barnes is a York-born painter whose work is shaped by having lived across Tasmania, Wales and London. After graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art, she established a successful career as a television producer in London. She returned to a dedicated painting practice in 2020 and since then her work has received prizes in national competitions, been featured in British Vogue, hangs in private collections around the world, and was most recently selected for the 2026 Royal Academy Summer Show, where it sold before the doors opened. 

 

Painting intuitively on the floor, heavily influenced by the legacy of the Ninth Street Women, she creates large-scale standalone works alongside expansive, interconnected series where multiple panels thrum together as a whole. A significant, collaborative branch of her practice revolves around these modular pieces. Conceived as one continuous body of work, these panels can be gridded into various configurations - from a solitary piece  to monumental 18-panel installations. She collaborates directly with collectors to tailor artwork to their specific space and vibe, making each installation a unique dialogue.

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This tactile approach to structure is deeply rooted in her exploration of 'matrescence' - the profound, somatic transformation of becoming a mother and the heightened, entangled connection to nature that follows it. The works emerge from deeply personal experiences, yet resonate beyond them, tapping into a universal experience of existing in the world.

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Operating between classical draftsmanship and formal abstraction, Chantal manipulates light and depth to reveal a presence shifting just beneath the surface, exposing an organic system of mirrors shared by the natural world and the female body.

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Through abstraction, she creates a state of indeterminacy where forms refuse definitive categorisation - sweeping, abstracted curves shift between botanical and anatomical forms. Navigating a space where the boundaries between our bodies and the earth dissolve is what excites her most. Ultimately, bringing these panels together mirrors the scattered recollections that make up our experience of existing in the world.

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STUDIO CONTACT: chantalbarnesart@gmail.com

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If you're interested in purchasing Chantal's work, please get in touch. She also accepts private commissions.

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