Sebastian Jefford

Sebastian Jefford (b. 1990, Swansea, Wales) is a British contemporary painter based in Berlin. His practice centers on figurative painting, examining the tension between realism and abstraction, narrative and formal structure. Through technically refined compositions, Jefford constructs psychologically charged scenes populated by animals, objects, and architectural fragments, creating subtle atmospheres of theatricality, irony, and perceptual ambiguity. Jefford was a participant in the Berlin Program for Artists (2022–2023) and graduated from the Royal Academy Schools, London (2014–2017). He previously studied at the University of the West of England and at the Universität der Künste Berlin. His work operates within the context of contemporary European painting, engaging with art historical traditions while reframing them through a distinctly contemporary lens. He has presented solo exhibitions at Galleri Opdahl (Stavanger), Galerie Noah Klink (Berlin), Gianni Manhattan (Vienna), Worse (London), and Liebaert Projects (Kortrijk). His work has also been exhibited at institutions including KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Kunstverein Bielefeld, La Galerie – Centre d’Art Contemporain de Noisy-le-Sec, PLATO (Ostrava), the Lyon Biennale, Liste Basel, and Bloomberg New Contemporaries at the ICA London.