ART CITIES:Brussels-Alice Neel
Alice Neel witnessed a parade of Avant-Garde movements from Abstract Expressionism to Conceptual Art, and refused to follow any of them. Instead, she developed a unique, expressive style of portrait painting that captured the psychology of individuals living in New York, from friends and neighbors in Spanish Harlem to celebrities. Part of what makes Neel one of the greatest American portraitists of the 20th century is her refusal of traditional categories (gender, age race, social status, etc.).
By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Xavier Hufkens Gallery Archive
The exhibition “Alice Neel in New Jersey and Vermont” presents a different facet of Alice Neel’s oeuvre: the landscapes, still lifes and family portraits that she made in the rural surroundings of Spring Lake and Vermont. The paintings provide an intimate insight into the artist’s personal world and reveal the delight she took in the simple pleasures of life, away from the daily grind of New York. This exhibition reveals the way in which she viewed her own intimate world. In contrast to the portraits that Neel painted in New York, most of which are set indoors, the works painted in Spring Lake and Vermont are filled with light, lush vegetation and a sense of openness. Often executed during holidays and weekends, they speak not just of a change of scenery but also of mood: the struggles and vicissitudes of city life give way to an altogether simpler and more rustic existence. Neel’s love of the countryside can be traced back to 1932, when she bought a small house in Spring Lake, a short drive or train ride from New York. When residing in the city, Neel was almost spoilt for choice in terms of sitters, but her time at the cottage inevitably brought her family into closer focus. She frequently painted her sons, Richard and Hartley, and when they married and had families of their own, she also painted her daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Later still, when Hartley accepted a job in Vermont and moved into a farmhouse, his mother was a frequent visitor. From 1973 onwards, and despite it being a five-hour drive from New York, the property became one of her favourite places to stay. Vermont was close to Neel’s heart for another reason: it was also where, in her seventies, she finally acquired a ‘room of her own’. Needing to care for her children and unable to afford a separate studio in New York, she had always painted in her apartment. In Vermont, however, the artist was able to convert one of the farm’s outbuildings into a dedicated workspace.
Info: Xavier Hufkens Gallery, 6 rue St-Georges, Brussels, Duration: 26/10-8/12/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-18:00, www.xavierhufkens.com
