Biography

Rachel Mortby is a British artist who lives and works in London. After a Fashion degree (BA) at Middlesex University, Rachel worked in film, theatre, TV and advertising as a costume designer, supervisor and maker.

In 2019, she enrolled on a local oil painting course and then went on to study with the Royal Drawing School and The Essential School of Painting. Rachel is currently on the MA in Fine Art at City and Guilds London Art School, graduating in September 2026.

Artist Statement

Working across drawing, painting, print making, appliqué, soft sculpture and collage, I explore the tension between figuration and abstraction through a multi media approach to mark making.

An interest in metamorphosis, human hierarchy and, in the age of the anthropocene, the fragile borders that connect us to our animal selves, underlies my work.

Creative work develops as a response to a mythical or historical theme, characters become part of a floating world of Carnivalesque imagery.

Poetry, modern song lyrics and everyday phraseology feed into the subjects and titles, linking the past to the present. Mark making forms layers of history, in some cases obliterating previous incarnations. Hard visceral marks overlap softer, more delicate charcoal drawings as they correspond and communicate with the canvas. Through the act of painting, I traverse dissolving boundary spaces and manipulate the gap between the images.

Contact
Please get in touch if you have any questions about Rachel's work, including pricing and commissions.
Rachel.mortby@hotmail.com

Exhibitions

  • Mar 26: City & Guilds Art School interim show

  • Feb 26: Together Through Art, Mall Galleries London

  • Jul 25: "How the light gets in", Marylebone Gallery

  • Mar 25: City & Guilds Art School interim show

  • Mov-Mar 25: Beep Painting Biennale, Elysium gallery

  • Jul 24: The Essential School of Painting graduation show

  • Jul 23: The Essential School of Painting interim show

  • May 23: Artists Open House Dulwich

  • May 22: Dulwich Art Group, Artists Open House Dulwich

  • Aug 21 - Dec 24: Great Bow Wharf Gallery, Langport Somerset

  • Nov 21 - Nov 22: Jane Newbery Gallery, Dulwich

rachel.mortby@hotmail.com