ALICE NEAVE
I see these pieces as something different to a painting, more an object, even sculptural in nature. Painting on raw calico has allowed me to have more of a tactile relationship with the pieces, as has sewing and collaging elements together.
“I would love my work to be seen more as objects than paintings; in that they should exist amongst other furnishings and beautiful items, like jewels in a treasure chest.”
Studying Persian miniatures and the Tantric paintings (created by Tantrica families from Rajasthan in India) for their compositional elements, their borders and their palette has been hugely significant and influential to my practice the last couple of years. I find something so beautiful about pieces that are gem-like and tell of a life and history. Whilst there are traces of this history left on the objects, they have survived beautifully and I am grateful that still here to look at and gather from. As a result of studying these pieces, I work on raw, natural surfaces with raw pigments. I want my work to live and to age.
For me, each piece has a strong narrative, however abstract and symbolic they are. So if they can live amongst other beautiful objects but keep the viewer looking and connected and be emotionally resonant in some way then that would make me very happy.
My Thameside studio is quiet, right by the water and it really feels like a safe haven to get on with things in and amongst a big artist community. I have spent a lot of time painting in rural France, having stayed or lived there for short spells when London has become too stifling. This quiet focused time has always been so beneficial for developing my work and so I am embarking on a residency in Lavardac this July.
Alice Neave had a BA in Fine Art from the University of Leeds and completed the Turps Banana correspondence course in 2021. Solo exhibitions include, Thameside Gallery 2018 and Public Gallery, 2018. Group exhibitions include In Response, Turps Banana Correspondence Course, Nunnery Gallery, 2021. Flirting with the border Guards, Terrace Gallery, London, 2021. C&B Curates, Cramer and Bell. Mark of a Woman, Online show curated by Amelia Maxwell, 2019. Having spent a lot of time living & painting in the Poitou Charente region of France she now works from her studio in South East London on the Thames
