Alice Neel (1900–1984) redefined the possibilities of portrait painting. Whilst abstraction dominated the art world, Neel placed people at the centre of her work and painted her immediate surroundings – from neighbours in Spanish Harlem to the Mayor of New York City.
With great sensitivity, she captured the personalities of her subjects, making individual life stories, intimacy and vulnerability the focus of her work. She took a particular interest in people and communities that were scarcely represented in the art of her time. Neel’s works reflect the social upheavals of the 20th century in the USA and raise questions that remain relevant to this day: Who is seen, and whose stories are told?
The exhibition at K20, part of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, brings together around 90 paintings and drawings, as well as previously unpublished archive material, and traces Neel’s artistic development from the 1920s to the early 1980s. A richly illustrated catalogue accompanying the exhibition is edited by Susanne Gaensheimer, Karen Archey and Agnieszka Skolimowska.
‘Alice Neel’ is generously supported by the Friends of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Pinacoteca Agnelli, the Fundação de Serralves and the Muzeum Sztuki Nowoczesnej w Warszawie. (Source: Kunstsammlung NRW)
Exhibition dates: 13 March to 5 September 2027
