From an Industrial Zone Sanctuary to Edinburgh: Sebastián Espejo and the Mystical World of Objects

In the middle of an industrial zone in Northeast London, leaving behind the noise of bakeries and recycling centers, the atmosphere changes suddenly the moment you step into Sebastián Espejo’s studio. The scent of cedarwood, a gentle Tropicália rhythm playing in the background, chocolate-covered figs offered from a traditional Chilean basket, and freshly brewed herbal tea… The Chilean-born painter has built himself such a sanctuary right in the middle of the city’s chaos.

Now, the works born in this studio have moved to the “Feast Room” space at Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh. Coinciding with the Edinburgh Art Festival, the exhibition “INSTALMENTS | Sebastián Espejo” takes its place at the gallery from August 13 to September 12, 2026.

Modest Objects and Intertwined Worlds

Every surface in Espejo’s workspace is covered with objects he collects from places he visits—which he calls “faithful friends”: pebbles, dried lichens, ordinary flowers… The artist selects these modest objects not for their monetary value, but for the honesty they carry. He sees them as “miniature characters in a theatre of light” created by himself.

On his canvases, intertwined worlds often catch the eye. A still-life object resting quietly in the foreground opens up through a window right behind it to a distant landscape, the sea, or a sky full of stars. This balance struck between the intimacy offered by an enclosed room and the infinity on the horizon brings a deeply calm rhythm to the paintings.

Combining oil paint, marble dust, wax, and pencil on wooden panels, Espejo compares his color palette to the flavor balance of a dish:

“The order of colors is like the flavor balance of a dish. It should have an intention, but not always a strict plan. It should feel fresh, sometimes tart, sometimes sweet and warm, or crisp and cold.”

The Bond Between the Small and the Cosmic

Evoking Walt Whitman’s words, “What is less showy is as great to me as any,” Espejo explains that while he works outdoors under the sun in Chile, during winters he shuts himself in his studio to recreate those moments in his mind. And that is precisely why he sees painting as the most direct way to describe the bond between a tiny pebble and the cosmic universe, between inanimate objects and life itself.