Olivia Sterling Paints Magic

Visitors to Charleston in Lewes will see a new body of work by Olivia Sterling, created in response to Quentin Bell's lifelong fascination with magic, levitation, and the occult. The exhibition, which runs from Tuesday, 27 October 2026, to Sunday, 7 March 2027, at 23:00, will feature paintings, drawings, and prints that explore the language of spellcasting and mysticism in contemporary life and politics.

Olivia Sterling is a London-based painter who has gained recognition for her vivid and often darkly funny depictions of domestic scenes, body parts, and British desserts. Her work satirises the bawdy slapstick humour of British seaside postcards and the simplified style of classic children's comics, examining categories of race, gender, and class. With a background in fine art from the University of Derby and the Royal College of Art, Sterling has held solo shows at various galleries, including Meyer Riegger in Berlin and Basel, and Dirimart Pera in Istanbul.

The exhibition at Charleston is free and open Wednesday to Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays, 10am to 5pm. Tickets are with the button beside the article. Olivia Sterling's work is held in the collection of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, and she has been described by Time Out as one of the best young artists working in London today.

The new body of work created for Charleston takes Quentin Bell's fascination with magic, levitation, and the occult as its starting point, working across painting, drawing, and print. The exhibition asks what place Charleston's creative history and Bell's love of tactile making have in the age of artificial intelligence, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of magic, politics, and technology.