出生于南非、常驻伦敦的艺术家丽莎·布莱斯(Lisa Brice)以她的具象绘画实践挑战西方艺术史上对女性的传统表述。她用其标志性的钴蓝色描绘女性裸体,将女性的主体性从男性凝视中收回。在个人和群像绘画中,女性从模特和缪斯的角色中解放出来,她们挥舞着画笔,捕捉自己(和同伴)的形象,她们或在小憩,或倚在镜子前,靠在门上抽烟,打破了艺术家和模特之间的等级制。无论是以直接的目光面对观众,还是似乎无视了观众的存在,布莱斯笔下的女性形象都是作为被自己的欲望所驱使的、有能动性的人物存在,而不是观众的欲望。
布莱斯画作中的人物和环境是由从杂志、互联网、个人照片以及艺术史中收集的各种图像组成的。“所有的绘画都是一脉相承的——它都是与前人的对话,”布莱斯说道。欧洲男性艺术家的知名绘画元素,包括德加、马奈、毕加索和瓦洛顿,都在她的室内场景中得到了呼应和重新想象。更重要的是,她并不只是对西方艺术史上的男性巨匠的作品做出回应,而是复兴了女性画家未被充分认识的作品系列。比如美国抽象表现主义画家海伦·弗兰肯塔勒(Helen Frankenthaler)将一滩滩钴蓝色的颜料倒在画布上,荷兰画家查理·托罗普(Charley Toorop)和草间弥生(Yayoi Kusama)的图像在自画像中被融合在一起,而格特鲁德·斯坦因(毕加索在1905-6年创作)被放在瓦洛顿的《白与黑》(1913)旁边,由此建立了女性文化人物之间的代际对话。早年为南非艺术家苏·威廉姆森(Sue Williamson)做版画助理的工作经历使布莱斯对重复和她创作的形象产生了兴趣,包括一只从马奈的《奥林匹亚》(1863年)中提取出的嘶嘶作响的黑猫,在她的作品中反复出现,用她自己的话说,这是 “一支由女性人物组成的小军队。”
直接从管子里挤出的醒目的钴蓝色占据了布莱斯的调色板的主导位置,在她的绘画实践的反复应用中积累了意义。她最初为了捕捉霓虹灯的蓝光和暮色的氛围,后来参考了特立尼达 "蓝魔 "(blue devil)的形象,揭示了她在20世纪90年代末期在西班牙港CCA7居住时与该岛建立的密切联系。“蓝魔”是一个狂欢节人物,由化妆师用(通常是蓝色)油漆或有色泥浆覆盖身体而闻名。前者多由一种名为“Reckitt's Blue”的粉末制成的——这种物质在历史上被整个大英帝国用来给白人涂上蓝色,后来被重新用于皮肤漂白。对布莱斯来说,这种文化习俗与她自己作品的结合是一种 "掩盖自然的肤色,中止对种族的简单认知的手段"。
丽莎·布莱斯在开普敦的米凯利斯美术学院(Michaelis School of Fine Art)学习,并在特立尼达岛工作了很长时间。1998年,她在Gasworks画廊参与艺术家驻留项目后定居伦敦。同年,她参加了格兰德里维埃的一个工作坊。1999年,她与艺术家克里斯·奥菲利、彼得·多伊格和埃米约·巴哈巴一起在西班牙港参与了艺术家驻留。2020年,她在海牙的KM21美术馆举办了大型个展 "烟与镜",随后她又参与了伦敦海沃德画廊举办的群展 “混合:今日绘画 ”(2021年)。布莱斯在英国的博物馆和公共机构举办了多个个展,包括路易斯的查尔斯顿信托(2021年)和伦敦的泰特不列颠(2018年)。布莱斯的作品还在伦敦白教堂画廊(2022年)、德克萨斯州沃斯堡现代艺术博物馆(2022年)、伦敦泰特不列颠博物馆(2021年)、伦敦卡姆登艺术中心(2016年)和开普敦南非国家美术馆(2016年)的重要群展中展出。2019年,她的作品在Thaddaeus Ropac 画廊的伦敦空间展出,参加由茱莉娅‧佩顿-琼斯和艺术家阿尔瓦罗·巴林顿共同策划的群展。她的画作被各大公共机构收藏,包括伦敦泰特美术馆、曼彻斯特惠特沃斯美术馆、洛杉矶哈默博物馆、旧金山现代艺术博物馆、华盛顿史密森尼非洲艺术国家博物馆、约翰内斯堡艺术馆、开普敦南非国家美术馆和北京X博物馆。2023年,丽莎·布莱斯的作品被收入伦敦泰特现代博物馆举办的群展“捕捉瞬间”。
2023
LIVES and WORKS, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
Bar Games (1992 - 2023), Sadie Coles HQ, London, UK
2022
Last Chance Salon, Salon 94: LGDR, New York, USA
2021
Lisa Brice, Charleston Trust, Lewes, UK
2020
Smoke and Mirrors, KM21, The Hague, Netherlands
2019
Lisa Brice, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK
2018
Art Now: Lisa Brice, Tate Britain, London, UK
2017
Boundary Girl, Salon 94, New York, USA
Lisa Brice, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK
2015
Well Worn, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2014
Cut Your Coat, French Riviera, London, UK
2012
Throwing the Floor, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2009
More Wood for the Fire, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2007
Base One Two Three, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2006
Night Vision, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2003
Lisa Brice, Camouflage, Brussels, Belgium
2000
Work in Transit, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
1999
Lisa Brice, Hänel Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Lisa Brice, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
1998
In The Eyes, Hänel Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
1997
Staying Alive, Hänel Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Staying Alive, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
Life, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
1995
Power Tools, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
1994
You Strike the Woman You Strike the Rock, Stargarder 18, Galerie Frank Hänel, Berlin, Germany
Plastic makes Perfect, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
1993
Sex Kittens, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
2025
The Woman Question: 1550–2025, The Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland
"Are we still up to it?" – Art & Democracy, Herrenchiemsee Palace, Chiemsee, Germany
To Improvise a Mountain : Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Curates, Hayward Gallery Touring, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds; MK Gallery, Milton Keynes; and Nottingham Castle, Nottingham, UK
A Room Hung With Thoughts: British Painting Now, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, TX, USA
2023
Capturing the Moment, Tate Modern, London, UK
2022
A Century of the Artist's Studio 1920-2020, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
Women Painting Women, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX, USA
2021
Lasting Influences, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Mixing It Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, London, UK
Life Between Islands: Caribbean-British Art 50s - Now, Tate Britain, London, UK
2020
25 Years, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK
Monster/Beauty: An Exploration of the Female/Femme Gaze, Lychee One, London, UK
This Corrosion, Modern Art, London, UK
A Contemporary Collection, Hepworth Wakefield, UK
2019
Artists I Steal From, cur. Julia Peyton-Jones and Alvaro Barrington, Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK
2018
In Context, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2017
La Diablesse, Tramps, London, UK
New Acquisitions: Standard Bank Corporate Collection, Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2016
Summer Show, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Home Truths: Domestic Interiors in South African Collections, cur. Michael Godby, South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Making & Unmaking, Camden Art Centre, London, UK
New Revolutions: Goodman Gallery at 50, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2014
Puppet Show, cur. Tom Bloor and Celine Condorelli, Gävle Konstcentrum, Sweden; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, UK
2013
Lullaby, McCabe Fine Art, Stockholm, Sweden
The Suit, Copy Shop, Cape Town, South Africa
What we did the following year, Ritter Zamet Galerie, London, UK
2011
Krakow Photomonth Festival, cur. Adam Broomberg, Oliver Chanarin and Francesca Astenasi, Poland
Beguiling: The Self and Subject, cur. Kirsty Cockerill, Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town, South Africa
2010
Self-Consciousness, cur. Peter Doig and Hilton Als, VeneKlasen/Werner, Berlin, Germany
Open End, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
The Marks We Make, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective, South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
BIP2010 (Out of) Control, Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain, Leige, Belgium
Winter Show, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2009
Legacies of the Landscape, Michaelis Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2007
Lift Off Two, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2006
ISLEP, Brussels, Belgium
2005
Next Flag: The African Sniper Project, Migros Museum, Zürich, Switzerland
2004
A Decade of Democracy, cur. Emma Bedford, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
X, Stephen Lawrence Gallery, University of Greenwich, London, UK
Les Afriques, cur. Laurent Jacob, Tri Postal, Lille, France
2003
Away From Home, Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH, USA
Intersections: South African Art from the BHP Billiton Collection, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
Bootleg, cur. Craig Burnett, Sarah Craine Jones, Pernila Holmes, Pablo Lafuenta, Tom Norton and Catherine Patha, Spitalfields Market, London, UK
Resident: Works on Paper, cur. Peter Doig and Charlotte Elias, CCA7, Port of Spain, Trinidad
New Strategies, cur. David Brodie, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
Picnic, cur. Andrew Lamprecht, Bell-Roberts Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Free Nelson Mandela, cur. Sean O'Toole, Klein Karoo National Art Festival, Oudtshoorn, South Africa
2002
DAK'ART, Dakar Biennale, Senegal
Paradise, CCA7, Port of Spain, Trinidad
2001
Young Generations in Transition: China, Germany, Britain, He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, China
Supermarketed, cur. Chris Mew, Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A), London, UK
2000
Archive, Quartier Contemporary Art Space, The Hague, Netherlands
Securing the Future, cur. Marilyn Martin for the International AIDS Conference, touring South Africa and USA
Havana Biennale, Cuba
1998
Triennale deer Kleinplastik, cur. Wener Mayer, Stadtisthe Gallery, Göppingen, Germany
FNB Vita Awards, Sandton Civic Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Body, City, and Society, Saint Gilies, Brussels
1997
Smokkel, 2nd Johannesburg Biennale Fringe, South Africa
Unplugged, Rembrandt Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
30 Minutes, Robben Island Visitors Block, Cape Town, South Africa
Life, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
End of the Millennium, South African Festival, Nantes, France
1996
Opening Exhibition, Hänel Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Vita Art Now, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
Colours, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
Groundswell, Mermaid Theatre Gallery, London, UK
Don't Mess with Mr Inbetween, cur. Ruth Rosengarten, Culturgest, Lisbon, Portugal
3 x 10, Hänel Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
1995
Scurvy - Secret Seven, Newtown Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Springtime in Chile, cur. Wayne Barker, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago, Chile
B Young South African Exhibition, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
The Laager, cur. Wayne Barker, Johannesburg, South Africa
1994
Three-person Show, cur. Jean Kampf, Gallery Goetz, Basel, Switzerland
Junge Kunst International, Overbeck-Gessellschaft, Lübeck, Germany
Election X, cur. Malcolm Payne, SAAA, Cape Town, South Africa
1993
AIDS Show, SAAA, Cape Town, South Africa
Volkskas Atelier Awards, nationwide exhibition, South Africa
Multicultural, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
1992
Three-person Show, Irma Stern Museum, Cape Town, South Africa
Three-person Show, Galerie Frank Hänel, Frankfurt, Germany
Sculpture Exhibition, University Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Grosse Dusseldorfer Kunstaustelling, Germany
Staff Exhibition, University Gallery, Stellenbosch, South Africa
1991
Cape Triennial, nationwide exhibition, South Africa
1990
Poster Exhibition, Baxter Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Poster Exhibition, Michaelis School of Fine Art Exhibition, University of Cape Town, South Africa
1989
Mail Art from South Africa - a view from the inside, Soho 20 Gallery, New York, USA
Visual Arts Exhibition, Uluntu Center, Guguletu; Center for African Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa
1988
Artists for Human Rights, Expo Exhibition Center, Durban, South Africa
China
X Museum, Beijing
Europe
Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany
Tate, London, UK
The Hepworth Wakefield, UK
South African High Commission, London, UK
Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
USA
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.
South Africa
BHP Billiton Collection, Johannesburg
Johannesburg Art Gallery
Michaelis Cabinet, University of Cape Town
SABC Collection, Johannesburg
South African National Gallery, Cape Town