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Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle, Barbican Art Gallery
February 16, 2023 - May 21, 2023
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Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle at The Barbican is the largest exhibition of the work of the US artist to be seen in the United Kingdom.
Alice Neel, who lived from 1900–1984, was known for her vivid portraits that captured characters from New York’s underground cultures throughout the turbulent 20th century.
Neel, who once referred to herself as “a collector of souls,” spent her entire life painting portraits of people with an attitude that was equal parts inquisitive and compassionate. Her subjects have included everyone from New York City’s mayor to single mothers in the surrounding area.
The show brings together works and ephemera from across Neel’s amazing six-decade career, drawing on various collections as sources of the items on display.
Will Gompertz, Barbican Artistic Director, said, “We are delighted to present Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle. A radical, creative artist undervalued for much of her six-decade career, Neel dedicated her life to producing vital, revealing portraits of New York’s bohemian scene.
Remarkably, her work has been little seen in the UK, making this a wonderfully exciting opportunity for visitors here to experience the extraordinary power of her work.”
Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle will run from 16 February to 21 May, 2023.
About Alice Neel
In 1921, Alice Neel, from Colwyn, Pennsylvania, enrolled in the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. After a breakdown in 1930, painting helped Neel heal. Neel painted Greenwich Village’s bohemian vibe after moving there in 1931. At the time, her intimate scenes were shocking. The exhibition at the Barbican shows her work in the Depression through to the 70s, as well as a self-portrait of the artist aged 80.
One of the reasons I painted was to catch life as it goes by, right hot off the griddle… the vitality is taken out of real living.
Hot Off The Griddle
The exhibition runs from 16 February to 21 May 2023 at the Barbican Art Gallery, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Saturday to Wednesday 10am – 6pm, open to 8pm on Thursday and Friday,
Tickets available here:
Main image: Alice Neel: Rita and Hubert, 1954 © The Estate of Alice Neel, Courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel
