Biography

Deborah Osberg is a South African artist and author currently living in Portugal. She combines art, philosophy and biology into works that explore tensions within political systems of power and control. Her perspective has grown from a career in educational philosophy in Britain, following her experiences teaching zoology in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.

Artist statement

My mixed media artworks bring together fragments of philosophical text with acrylics and natural materials such as charcoal, chalk, ink, wax, rust and soft paper to create richly textured surfaces that reveal traces of what is hidden beneath. Integral to my work is the tearing, layering, and juxtaposing of academic text fragments —both my own and those of others—into disjointed arrangements that evoke a sense of rupture and resistance. I paint over, censor and obscure texts. My visual narratives invite the viewer to question what is shown and what is concealed.

Philosophy

Learn more about Deborah’s philosophy and perspective by reading her philosophical papers and watching the following short documentary films about her

Artist Resume

Born in Durban, South Africa, 1959
Lives and works in Famalicão da Serra, Central Portugal

EDUCATION
Master of Science, Zoology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, 1988.
Doctor of Philosophy, Educational Philosophy, The Open University, UK, 2005.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
Deborah Osberg Art, Cultural Centre of Famalicão da Serra, Portugal.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Art in the Garden with Otherworlds Artists Collective, Melo, Portugal
2024 Exhibition of work by Otherworlds Artists Collective, Tabua, Portugal
2025 Xochi Art Gallery Pop-up event at Expoestrela, Mantiegas, Portugal

ONLINE EXHIBITIONS
2024 Xochi Art Gallery, Portugal https//Xochi.art
2024 Otherworlds Artists Collective, Portugal http://otherworldscollective

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS
October 2025, Solo exhibition, Xochi Art Gallery, Portugal https://Xochi.art

COLLECTIONS
Wayne Faulds, Johannesburg, South Africa
Chloe Bradbury-Rutherford, Mortagua, Portugal
Luc Levez, Vale de Amoreira, Portugal
Frederic Develay, Manteigas, Portugal
Belinda Levez, Vale de Amoreira, Portugal
Sally Giles, Brixham, Great Britain
Patricia Angoy, Luxembourg