Objects of Desire

An Artist in Venice

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A painter’s memoir of obsession, loss and creation during a trip to Venice

Alone in Venice for an artist’s residency, Celia Paul records her daily painting practice. Her days are both charged with and interrupted by the turmoil she feels over the death of her husband, and her more recent obsession with a younger man.

Inspired by the art, literature and atmosphere of the light-filled city around her, Paul’s meditations on love, creation, ageing and belonging are interwoven with fascinating explorations of artists and writers connected to Venice.

An act of profound and deeply personal observation, Objects of Desire reveals more with each reading. This is a window into a life devoted to art, a self-portrait of an artist who longs to look unflinchingly at herself – and invites us to do the same.

PRAISE FOR CELIA PAUL

‘Paul's powers of observation are keen and often ruthless’ New York Times

‘Deeply affecting and lyrical… glorious’ Chloe Aridjis (on Self-Portrait)

‘Engrossing’ Vogue (on Self-Portrait)

‘Beautiful, tender, and riveting. I have taken this book into my heart’ Claire-Louise Bennett (on Letters to Gwen John)

‘Paul’s prose.. glints and gleams on the page’ Daily Telegraph

‘Paul is one of the most thoughtful and significant living women artists’ Sunday Times

‘A powerful book’ Zadie Smith (on Self-Portrait)

‘Paul's memoir, Self-Portrait, is to me among the greatest ever books by an artist’ Observer

Celia Paul’s brilliance is to put us in her shoes as Venice reveals itself to her. We are Celia – whether working, looking, thinking or walking... Paul’s honesty with herself and her unrelenting attempts to understand art and the world make for an unlikely page turner. By the end I felt all of it had happened to me
Cecily Brown

About Celia Paul

Celia Paul is recognised as one of the most important painters working in Britain today. She was born in India in 1959, before moving to England as a young child. Her major solo exhibitions include Celia Paul, curated by Hilton Als, at Yale Center for British Art (2018) and The Huntington (2019); Desdemona for Celia by Hilton, Gallery Met, New York (2015–16); and Gwen John and Celia Paul, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester (2012–13). Her work was included in the group exhibition All Too Human at Tate Britain (2018), and is in many collections, including the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum, Saatchi Collection and Metropolitan Museum, New York.

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