# Elizabeth Neel URL: https://vielmetter.com/artists/elizabeth-neel/ Represented by Vielmetter Los Angeles Working in abstraction, Elizabeth Neel creates large-scale paintings that incorporate various techniques and abstract gestures as a method to interpret psychological experiences. Decomposition, preservation, and re-composition are central themes in Neel’s work. She applies paint with a formal immediacy that suggests both the humor and distress of experience in flux. Neel’s negotiation between marks as representations of themselves and as descriptive tools challenges the act of looking and the process of cognition. Neel’s paintings on raw canvas often employ rich colors like greens, purples, and ochre colors to evoke the natural world. Splatters of magenta might convene with hard-edged ochre triangular shapes, evoking the specific emotional qualities of particular modes of paint application. Her dexterous mark-making builds up compositions that translate a choreography of movements into specific forms. Vertical swaths of paint anchor swirls, splatters, and smears only to seep onto the bottom of the canvas. Neel’s drips, pours, sweeping brushstrokes, and monoprinting techniques utilize a language, specific to paint, that conjures a poetic lyricism beyond her canvas. Elizabeth Neel was born in 1975 in Stowe, Vermont, and lives and works in New York. She graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in 2007 and received a BA from Brown University in 1997. Recent solo exhibitions include *The Ghosts of My Friends*, Vielmetter Los Angeles, CA*; Limb after Limb,*Pilar Corrias, London, UK;*Arms Now Legs,*Salon 94,New York, NY;*In The Belly of the Whale,*Various Small Fires, Seoul, South Korea*; Life in Halves,*Vielmetter Los Angeles, CA*; *Elizabeth Neel: Nightjars and Allies**, Pilar Corrias, London, UK; *Tangled on the Serpent Chair*, Mary Boone, New York, NY; *Claw Hammer*, Vielmetter Los Angeles; *Vulture and Chicks*, Pilar Corrias, London, UK; *Lobster with Shell Game*, Vielmetter Los Angeles; *The People, the Park*, the Ornament, Pilar Corrias, London, UK; *3 and 4 before 2 and 5,* Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY; *Routes and Pressures*, Vielmetter Los Angeles; *Sphinx Ditch*, Pilar Corrias Gallery, London, UK; *Leopard Complex*, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., NY; *Stick Season*, The Sculpture Center, New York, NY. Recent group exhibitions include *R U STILL PAINTING???* Falcon Art Colelctive, New York, NY; *Eternal Seasons*, LGDR & Wei, Hong Kong, *20 Years*, Vielmetter Los Angeles, CA; *Structures of Feeling*, Galerie Maria Bernheim, Zurich, Switzerland; *Paintings*, Mary Boone, New York, NY; *Surface Work*, Victoria Miro, London, UK; *August and Everything After*, Plymouth Rock, Zurich, Switzerland; *Speaking Through Paint*, Lori Bookstein Fine Art, New York, NY; *Modern Talking*, curated by Nicola Trezzi, Cluj Museum, Romania; *Four Rooms*, Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; *Painting Overall*, Prague Biennial 5, Prague, Czech Republic; *Going Where the Weather Suits My Clothes, A Fall of Light of Fabric*, Mothers Tank Station, Dublin, Ireland; L*iving with Art: Collecting Contemporary in Metro New York*, The Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, Purchase, NY; *Abstract America*, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK. Her works are in the following public collections: Albright-Knox, Buffalo, New York; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Herbert F Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. ## Exhibitions - [Elizabeth Neel: The Ghosts of My Friends](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/elizabeth-neel-2023.md): October 28 — December 24, 2023 · Gallery I · Artists: Elizabeth Neel - [20 Years Anniversary Exhibition Part 2](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/20-years-anniversary-exhibition-part-2.md): June 26 — August 7, 2021 · Gallery I & II · Artists: Nick Aguayo, Edgar Arceneaux, Sadie Benning, Ellen Berkenblit, Andrea Bowers, Kim Dingle, Sean Duffy, Nicole Eisenman, Louise Fishman, Charles Gaines, Karl Haendel, Samuel Levi Jones, My Barbarian, Rodney McMillian, Mary Reid Kelley & Patrick Kelley, Elizabeth Neel, Yunhee Min, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Hugo McCloud, Dave McKenzie, Nicola Tyson - [Elizabeth Neel: Life in Halves](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/elizabeth-neel-life-in-halves.md): March 14 — June 20, 2020 · Gallery I · Artists: Elizabeth Neel - [Elizabeth Neel: Claw Hammer](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/2017-04-elizabeth-neel-claw-hammer.md): April 14 — May 20, 2017 · Artists: Elizabeth Neel - [Elizabeth Neel: Lobster with Shell Game](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/2015-05-elizabeth-neel-lobster-with-shell-game.md): May 29 — July 3, 2015 · Artists: Elizabeth Neel - [Elizabeth Neel: Routes and Pressures](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/2012-04-elizabeth-neel-routes-and-pressures.md): April 7 — May 12, 2012 · Artists: Elizabeth Neel - [Summer Group Show](https://vielmetter.com/exhibitions/2010-08-edgar-arceneaux-whitney-bedford-andrea-bowers-summer-group-show.md): August 7 — 30, 2010 · Artists: Edgar Arceneaux, Whitney Bedford, Andrea Bowers, Jane Callister, Sean Duffy, Nicole Eisenman, Charles Gaines, Karl Haendel, Jutta Koether, Alice Könitz, Shana Lutker, Rodney McMillian, Martin McMurray, Wangechi Mutu, Elizabeth Neel, Ruben Ochoa, Amy Sillman, Joel Tauber, Tâm Văn Trần ## Biography 1975 Born in Stowe, VT Lives and works in New York, NY 2007 MFA, Columbia University, New York, NY 2002 Diploma Certificate, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA 1997 BA, Brown University, Providence, RI **Selected Solo Exhibitions** 2026 "In the Guts of the Living," Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY 2023 "The Ghosts of My Friends," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2021 "Elizabeth Neel: Limb after Limb," Pilar Corrias, Savile Row, London, UK "Elizabeth Neel: Arms Now Legs," Salon 94, New York, NY ([Link](https://salon94.com/exhibitions/elizabeth-neel-2021/)) 2020 "Elizabeth Neel: In The Belly of the Whale," Various Small Fires, Seoul, South Korea "Life in Halves," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2019 "Elizabeth Neel: Nightjars and Allies," Pilar Corrias, London, UK 2018 "Tangled on the Serpent Chair," Mary Boone, New York, NY 2017 "Claw Hammer," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA 2016 “Vulture and Chicks,” Pilar Corrias, London, UK 2015 "Lobster with Shell Game," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA 2014 "The People, the Park, the Ornament," Pilar Corrias, London, UK 2013 "3 and 4 before 2 and 5," Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY 2012 "Routes and Pressures," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA 2011 "Sphinx Ditch," Pilar Corrias Gallery, London, UK "Leopard Complex," Sikkema Jenkins & Co., NY 2010 "Stick Season," The Sculpture Center, New York, NY 2009 Monica De Cardenas Gallery, Milan, Italy 2008 "Make No Bones," Deitch Projects, New York, NY 2005 Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York, NY **Selected Group Exhibitions** 2025 "R U STILL PAINTING???," Falcon Art Collective, New York, NY 2021-2022 "Eternal Seasons," LGDR & Wei, Hong Kong 2021 "No Line on the Horizon," Levy Gorvy, Palm Beach, FL "20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 2020 "Structures of Feelings," Curated by Piper Marshall, Galerie Maria Bernheim, Zurich, Switzerland 2018 "Paintings," Mary Boone, New York, NY “Surface Work,” Victoria Miro, London, UK ([Link](https://www.victoria-miro.com/exhibitions/521/)) 2016 “August and Everything After,” Plymouth Rock, Zurich, Switzerland 2014 "Speaking Through Paint," Lori Bookstein Fine Art, New York, NY 2013 Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, NY 2012 "Modern Talking," curated by Nicola Trezzi, Cluj Museum, Romania "Uri Aran/Elizabeth Neel, 'I mean orange" Studiolo, Zürich, Switzerland 2011 "A Painting Show," Harris Lieberman, New York, NY "Four Rooms," Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland "Painting Overall," Prague Biennial 5, Prague, Czech Republic "Going Where the Weather Suits My Clothes, A Fall of Light of Fabric," Mothers Tank Station, Dublin, Ireland 2010 "Wait for Me at the Bottom of the Pool," curated by Bob Nickas, Sagaponack, NY "Summer Group Show," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA "Purity is a Myth", Pilar Corrias Gallery, London, UK "Living with Art: Collecting Contemporary in Metro New York," The Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, Purchase, NY 2009 "Cave Painting," curated by Bob Nickas, New York, NY "Abstract America," Saatchi Gallery, London, UK "On Paper," Monica De Cardenas, Zuoz, Switzerland "Pulp Fiction," Eleven Rivington, New York, NY 2008 "A Seer Out of Season," On Stellar Rays, New York, NY "Subtraction," Deitch Projects, New York, NY "8 x 11/A4," James Fuentes LLC, New York, NY 2007 "Late Liberties," John Connely Presents, New York, NY "Salon Nouveau," Engholm Engelhorn, Vienna, Austria "Landscape," Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY 2006 "Farewell to Icon," Anna Helwing Gallery, Los Angeles, CA "The Garden Party," Deitch Projects, New York, NY "New Work," Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York, NY 2005 "Flower Power," Klemens Gasser & Tanja Grunert, Inc., New York, NY "Off My Biscuit," Destroy Your District, Samson Projects, Boston, MA **Bibliography** 2026 Hazard, Elizabeth. "Artist Elizabeth Neel on Control, Chaos, and the Language of Painting," Fine Art Globe, March 11 ([Link](https://fineartglobe.com/artists/artist-elizabeth-neel-on-control-chaos-and-the-language-of-painting/)) Tauer, Kristen. "With ‘In the Guts of the Living,’ Elizabeth Neel Translates the Language of History Into the Art of the Present," WWD Magazine, March 1 ([Link](https://wwd.com/eye/people/elizabeth-neel-in-the-guts-of-the-living-jack-shainman-1238628175/)) MutualArt Staff. "5 Must-See Exhibitions in February 2026," MutualArt, February 10 ([Link](https://www.mutualart.com/Article/5-Must-See-Exhibitions-in-February-2026/E5F9F2F7EE542CE6)) 2025 Seph Rodney, Andrew Russeth and Holland Cotter. "What to See in N.Y.C. Galleries in May," The New York Times, May 22 ([Link](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/arts/art-galleries-nyc-may.html)) 2022 Gottschaller, Pie. "Elizabeth Neel," Burlington Contemporary, April 5 2021 Clavarino, Elena. "Elizabeth Neel With a new show at Pilar Corrias, in London, Alice Neel’s granddaughter forges a path of her own," September 25 ([Link](https://airmail.news/issues/2021-9-25/elizabeth-neel)) Cascone, Sarah. "Elizabeth Neel Grew Up Painting With Her Famous Grandmother. Now, Her New Abstractions Are Getting Attention in New York and London," Artnet, August 23 ([Link](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/elizabeth-neel-new-gallery-shows-new-york-london-1998639)) 2020 Loos, Ted. "Smaller Fairs Mean Great Art, Closer to Home," New York Times, March 14 ([Link](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/arts/dallas-art-fair-art-brussels.html)) 2018 Smith, Roberta. "At 7 Art Galleries, the Ecstatic Flow of Paint and the Stories It Can Tell," New York Times (web), September 27 ([Link](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/arts/design/seven-painting-shows-to-see-in-new-york-art-galleries.html)) 2017 Tauer, Kristen and Leigh Nordstrom, “Art Basel Miami Beach Preview: The Scene in the Design District,” WWD (web), December 4 ([Link](http://wwd.com/eye/lifestyle/art-basel-miami-beach-design-district-11060625/)) 2016 Madden, Kathleen, “Elizabeth Neel,” Vitamin P3: New Perspectives in Painting, Phaidon 2015 Deyris-Henry, Dorothe. "The New Abstraction in the U.S. (and Why It Is New)," Art Press, March Vesnik, Ana. "Elizabeth Neel at Susanne Vielmetter Gallery," Widewalls, May Knight, Christopher. "Review: A process that ricochets between chance and order," Los Angeles Times, June 21 Johnson, Grant. "Choreography and Calligraphy: Elizabeth Neel at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects," ArtInfo (web), July 2 Parkes, Olivia. "Messy Art to Depict Our Messy Lives," Broadly (web), November 13 2014 Bunker, John, "Review: Elizabeth Neel at Pilar Corrias," abstract critical, May 23 ([Link](http://abstractcritical.com/note/elizabeth-neel-at-pilar-corrias/)) Palomar, MK. "Elizabeth Neel: interview," studio international, May 20 Elizabeth Neel: The People, The Park, The Ornament, Volt Caf, May 13 Exhibition of new paintings and sculptures by American artist Elizabeth Neel opens at Pilar Corrias, Art Daily, May 1 2013 Miller, Leigh Anne, "The Lookout: A Weekly Guide to Shows You Won't Want to Miss", Art in America online, May 16 2011 Falconer, Morgan. "Elizabeth Neel, Leopard Complex," Art Review, Summer/Issue 51 "Top 100," Flash Art, Nov/Dec 2011, p. 51 Sherwin, Skye. "Artist of the Week 156: Elizabeth Neel," The Guardian, September 22 Smyth, Cherry. "Elizabeth Neel: Sphinx Ditch," This is Tomorrow, September 28 2010 Coxhead, Gabriel. "Purity is a Myth," Time Out London, June 24 2009 Smaldone, Andrew. "Elizabeth Neel," ArtReview Magazine, December, p. 127 Nickas, Bob. "Painting Abstraction," Phaidon, pp. 54-57 Harpers Magazine, (featured image), September, p. 28 Auder, Michel. "Elizabeth Neel," Interview Magazine, June/July, pp. 86-89 Saatchi Gallery, Abstract America, Jonathan Cape/Random House, pp. 112 - 121 "New York Artists Dictionary," Flash Art, March/April, p. 69 Wheatley, Charmaine. "Elizabeth Neel," Border Crossings, Issue 109, pp. 93-94 2008 "Make No Bones," New Yorker Magazine, December 8, pp. 20-21 Allsop, Laura. "Preview: Elizabeth Neel," Art Review Magazine, November, p. 47 Camhi, Leslie. "People Are Talking About," Vogue, November, p. 235 2007 Trachtman, Paul. "Back to the Figure: Recognizable forms are showing up in the works of a new wave of contemporary painters," Smithsonian Magazine, October 2006 Spence, Rebecca. "Boundary Issues," ArtNews, April pp. 124-125 2005 Cohen, David. "A Branch of A Truly American Tradition," The New York Sun, June 9, p.16 **Public Collections** Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA Herbert F Johnson Museum, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA