‘The Chair of Memories’ (pictured) by Emily Beaumont & Frances Bloomfield
The Presence of Absence
Four very different artists explore space, memory, loss and connection.
“Your absence is a presence. Who knew an empty space could take up so much room.”
Regency Townhouse
✳︎
September 24th - October 4th, 2026
✳︎
13 Brunswick Square BN3 1EH
✳︎
Regency Townhouse ✳︎ September 24th - October 4th, 2026 ✳︎ 13 Brunswick Square BN3 1EH ✳︎
It began with an empty chair…
At the heart of this exhibition are 4 vintage chairs, a collaboration between Frances Bloomfield and Emily Beaumont. The chairs will explore the concepts of memory; healing; secrets and retreat.
“A chair replaces the presence of someone by holding their absence.”
Who are the artists?
Emily Beaumont, artist, upholsterer
Frances Bloomfield, contemporary surrealist
Jo Hathaway, painter
Nicholas Bowman, photographer
Find out more about the artists…
“What we are trying to do is show how everyday objects can directly impact our lives, help us to navigate our future and consider the huge gaps that we all leave behind, no matter who or where we are.”
“Influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre’s study on Being and Nothingness, we wanted to explore the concept that absence is a very real and substantial being.”
The venue
The Regency Townhouse is a rare example of an original historic townhouse and the perfect domestic setting for this exhibition. The building is a metaphor all its own, holding the lives, memories and palpable absences, the spirits of those who walked and sat and wandered to the sea before us; those lives that are now, and to come.
Plan your visit
The show will be open from 11am to 5pm every day between September 25th and October 4th, 2026.
There will be a range of events around the show, including:
• Private View - Thursday 24 September 5-8 pm
• Tequila cocktails from Brighton-founded Cazcabel, with an introductory talk from Rachel McDermott - Thursday 1st October 6-8pm
• Film screening of ‘Unrelated’, directed by Joanna Hogg, Friday 2 October 6-9pm with wine provided by Beacon Down Vineyards
Nick Bowman will be including a photographic installation ‘We are not a number’ in the exhibition
We look forward to seeing you!
'“we are carried. in bellies. in arms. in love. in hope. in caskets. in urns. in grief. in memories. our whole lives and into the next. we are carried.”
Sara RianFor more information…
For more information, news, updates and invitations to the private view and other events, or to get in touch with any of the artists, please complete the form.
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