Deborah Lerner

b. 1989, England. Based in London.

Deborah Lerner is a painter whose work considers the material properties of paint, the history of the medium and how it can be used to explore the universal condition. Influenced by authors such as Maggie Nelson, Katherine Angel and Amia Srinivasan, the paintings make visible the values which underpin their writing such as nuance and care.

‘I am undeniably a painter of the city, it’s structure and its patina, but much of what influences me is not visual. Recently I’ve been thinking about the book Alphabet Diaries by Sheila Heti. The consideration of form vs content combined with the act of posing yourself a seemingly insignificant question has stayed with me ever since I read it. In the book, Heti takes 10 years’ worth of diary sentences and as you would expect orders them alphabetically. It's a helpful lesson in creating, in a time when productivity and capital are so core to our understanding of worth.’

Recent projects

Exhibitions include One Thing Touches Another, Maya Frodeman, Wyoming, 2025 and Thank you for Dinner, Flexitron, London, 2025. Deborah participated in the Apollo Painting School in 2024 and in June 2025 received the Eaton Grant.

Artist website