Frances Aviva Blane ( Sternberg), is an English abstract painter who works in the

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

tradition. Her subject matter is the disintegration of paint and personality. Blane also draws. However, whereas her paintings are mainly non-referential, the drawings are often of heads, although, as in her paintings, the "heads" are deconstructed which echo her words "broken-up paint, broken-up heads". In 2014, her drawings were shown in an exhibition entitled Deconstruct at De Queeste Kunstkamers, Belgium. She has exhibited in Britain, Europe, Australia and Japan. Portrait by Frances Aviva Blane an oil and linen painting 90x90 cm in size

Portrait by Frances Aviva Blane an oil and linen painting 90x90 cm in size

“They are desperate paintings, fetching isolated and sombre emotion from the deep recesses – they are 'primeval, before language, dredged from the back of your mind'. They are Beckett-like landscapes and express something like anxiety, unease, restlessness, all tinged with melancholy or plain sadness.” Dr Edward Winters,

West Dean College West Dean College of Arts and Conservation is situated in the West Dean Estate, of West Dean near Chichester. The Estate was formerly the home of the poet and patron of the arts Edward James. He was an avid admirer of the Surrealist movement, ...

, 2005, from the introduction in the catalogue for Frances Aviva Blane's show, Prime Time: Painting, Frances Aviva Blane – paintings & drawings 2006 at Galerie Seitz & Partner, Berlin, January – February 2006 “Blane’s drawings are not for the faint-hearted. They are very demanding and what they demand is attention. Blane seeks to find the fewest marks that will carry the emotional energy she pours into every work. Such loaded distillations require input and work on the part of the viewer as well. They incite a response. ‘I want to make a mark that no has ever seen before.’ And so she does.” Doris Lockhart Saatchi, London, 2005, from the introduction in the catalogue for Frances Aviva Blane's show, Prime Time: Painting, Frances Aviva Blane: paintings & drawings 2006 at Galerie Seitz & Partner, Berlin, January – February 2006

Education

Blane studied at Chelsea School of Art (1988), Byam Shaw School of Painting and Drawing (1991) and the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, London (1993).

Films

* ''Who is Frances Aviva Blane?'' (2020) directed by

Penny Woolcock Penny Woolcock (born 1 January 1950) is an Argentine filmmaker, opera director, and screenwriter. Early life Penny Woolcock was born in Argentina and raised in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. In 1967, she founded a radical theatre group and was b ...

, camera Leo Regan, editing Alex Fry * ''Two Metres Apart with

Susie Orbach Susie Orbach (born 6 November 1946) is a British psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer and social critic. Her first book, ''Fat is a Feminist Issue'', analysed the psychology of dieting and over-eating in women, and she has campaigned against m ...

'' (2020) directed by

Books

*FRANCES (2021) by

, Eddy Frankel and Corinna Lotz *COVID (2020) by

and Frances Aviva Blane – a book of paintings and drawings made by Blane during the first COVID-19 lockdown with an essay by Orbach. *Who is Frances Aviva Blane? (2020) Blane, Orbach, Woolcock. A book accompanying the film of the same name directed by

. * NOTHING by Frances Aviva Blane, a book of paintings and works on paper with a catalogue essay by

Diana Souhami Diana Souhami (born 25 August 1940) is an English writer of biographies, short stories and plays. She is noted for her unconventional biographies of prominent lesbians. Biography Souhami was brought up in London and studied philosophy at Univers ...

was published by Starmount Publications in 2015. * EMBASSY by Frances Aviva Blane. A book of paintings and drawings chronicling Blane's exhibition at the German Embassy London with introduction by

Tess Jaray Tess Jaray (born 31 December 1937) is a British painter and printmaker. She taught at The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL from 1968 until 1999. Over the last twenty years Jaray has completed a succession of major public art projects. She was made ...

was published by Starmount Publications in 2017. * MORE Works on Paper by Frances Aviva Blane with essay by Mark Gisbourne was published by Starmount Publications in January 2018 * FAB by Frances Aviva Blane with introduction by Susie Orbach was published by Starmount Publications in 2019

Exhibitions

Blane's first show in London was curated by Andrew Mummery, a British gallerist. She is also an award-winner of the

Jerwood Drawing Prize The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize is the United Kingdom's leading award in contemporary drawing. Initially awarded in 1991 as the Malvern Open Drawing Prize, it became the Cheltenham Open Drawing Competition in 1994, and then the Jerwood Drawing ...

(1999) and took part in their exhibition Drawing Breath, an anniversary show. Blane has been included in many group shows including Chora (London and touring the UK) curated by art critic

Sue Hubbard Sue Hubbard is a poet, novelist and art critic based in the UK. Hubbard has published three collections of poetry with her fourth due from Salmon Press, Ireland in 2020, three novels, a collection of short stories and a book on art. She has wri ...

and Women's Contemporary Self Portraits at the

Usher Gallery The Usher Gallery is an art museum in Lincoln, England. The gallery displays a collection of artworks by painters such as J. M. W. Turner and L. S. Lowry. Established in 1927, it is run as part of the Collection. History James Ward Usher wa ...

(Lincoln and touring). Blane also showed at the Annely Juda Gallery in the exhibition Annely Juda – A Celebration. She has had two-handed exhibitions with

Basil Beattie Basil Beattie RA (born 1935) is a British artist, whose work revolves around abstraction and is known for its emotive and gestural forms. Born in West Hartlepool, County Durham, Beattie attended the West Hartlepool College of Art from 1950 until ...

and John Mclean, both prominent British abstract painters. She was sponsored by the British Council and the Goethe Institut to take part in a painting swap with German artists. She has also exhibited at The Architectural Biennale in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

in 2004 and at

Our Most Holy Redeemer Our Most Holy Redeemer is a late 19th-century church in Clerkenwell, London, England, by the architect John Dando Sedding. It is an Anglo-Catholic church in the Diocese of London of the Church of England. It is at the junction of Exmouth Market ...

Church in Exmouth Market.

Selected solo shows

* Frances Aviva Blane, Dark, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium from 11 November to 9 December 2018 * Blane. Broken Heads, Broken Paint, 12 Star Gallery at Europe House, London 2018 * Two Faces, a show of work by Frances Aviva Blane, The German Ambassador's Residence, London, 2016 – 2017 * Deconstruct, Frances Aviva Blane shown alongside exhibitions of Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2014 * Big Black Paintings, Bay Hall, Kings College, London, 2014 * Frances Aviva Blane, Paintings & Drawings, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2013 * Paintings and Works on Paper, Quest 21, Brussels, 2011 * Portrait/Painting, Shillam and Smith3 London, 2006 * Prime Time: Painting, Frances Aviva Blane – paintings & drawings at Galerie Seitz & Partner, Berlin, 2006 * Paintings in The Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer, ecArtspace, Exmouth Market, London, 2004 * Frances Aviva Blane Paintings and Drawings ecArtspace in conjunction with London Architecture Biennale, St John's Street EC1, 2004 * Delinquent Paintings, ecArtspace, 2001 * Berry House Solo x 9: artists in Clerkenwell – including Susan Hiller, 1998 * Frances Aviva Blane Drawing, Shillam Smith 3, 1997 * F Blane Only, curated by Andrew Mummery, London, 1996 * Curwen Gallery, London, curated by Andrew Mummery, 1995

Selected group shows

+ Frances Blane drawings and paintings, (20th anniversary show)
ecArtspace
@

Burgh House Burgh House is a historic house located on New End Square in Hampstead, London, that includes the Hampstead Museum. The house is also listed as Burgh House & Hampstead Museum. Brief history Burgh House was constructed in 1704 during the re ...

, London, 2022
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize
2021 * Moi et Les Autres. A group show with Daniel Enkaoua Etc
De Queeste Kunstkamers
Abele/Watou Belgium, 2021 * Ruth Borchard Collection
The Self Portrait Prize
2021 * Art from The Heart, Zuleika Gallery Exhibition in aid of Maggies Cancer Centre with Anish Kapoor, Trevor Sutton and Claudia Clare, 2021 * Sea of Change with Stockwell and Jason Oddy online a
www.ecartspace.com
and Lemnos Greece, 2021 * Fragmented, with Claudia Clare
Zuleika Gallery
London SW1, 2020 * Distancing’, with Basil Beattie, Susan Stockwell, Dryden Goodwin
ecArtspace
online, 2020 * The Desire Of Looking, with Daniel Enkaoua, Marcelle Hanselaar
De Queeste Kunstkamers
Abele/Watou Belgium, 2020 * Age is Just a Number, Summer Show at Zuleika Gallery, London SW1, 2019 * Ikonoclash #01 including Anton Kannemeyer and Marcelle Hanselaar, De Queeste Kunstamers, Abele/Watou Belgium, 2019 * Abstract Allies including Trevor Sutton, Nigel Hall at Zuleika Gallery, London SW1, 2019 *

John Moores Painting Prize The John Moores Painting Prize is a biennial award to the best contemporary painting, submission is open to the public. The prize is named for Sir John Moores, noted philanthropist, who established the award in 1957. The winning work and short-li ...

Walker Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

, Liverpool, 2018 *HUMAN, The German Embassy, London, October 2017 * Creekside Open 2017 selected by Jordan Baseman * Liquid Thought, with Daniel Enkaoua and Chris Stevens, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2016 * Impact, with

Louise Bourgeois Louise Joséphine Bourgeois (; 25 December 191131 May 2010) was a French-American artist. Although she is best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific painter and printmaker. She explored a varie ...

, Marthe Zink, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2016 * Jerwood Drawing Prize 2015 – 2016. London and UK tour * De Vage Grens, with Frank Auerbach, Reniere&Depla, etc. De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2015 * Critics Circle, Selector Corinna Lotz,

Mall Galleries Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India * M ...

, London, 2013 * Drawing Breath, Jerwood Anniversary Exhibition, London, Sydney, Bristol, 2006 – 2008 * Annely Juda A Celebration.

Annely Juda Annely Juda CBE (born Anneliese Emily Brauer; September 23, 1914 – August 13, 2006) was a German art dealer known for founding the Annely Juda Fine Arts gallery in London. Notable artists represented have included Anthony Caro, David Hockney and ...

Fine Art, London, 2007 *

Marlborough Fine Art Marlborough Fine Art was founded in London in 1946 by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer. In 1963, a gallery was opened as Marlborough-Gerson in Manhattan, New York, at the Fuller Building on Madison Avenue and 57th Street, which later relocated in ...

, The London Print Fair, 2006 * Blind Art, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, 2005 * Sense and Sensuality, Blind Art, London, New York, Leicester, 2006 * Blind Art,

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

, London, 2005 * Weiss zieht und gewinnt, Galerie Seitz & Partners, Berlin, 2005 * Small is Beautiful, Flowers Central, London, 2004 * Very British?, Arbeiten von Britschen Kunstlerinnen with

Tacita Dean Tacita Charlotte Dean CBE, RA (born 1965) is a British / German visual artist who works primarily in film. She was a nominee for the Turner Prize in 1998, won the Hugo Boss Prize in 2006, and was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2008. S ...

, Mike Silva, Die Drostei, Pinneberg, 2004 * The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries London, 2004 * Art Works in Mental Health,

, London, touring Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, 2003 * Dialogue with Nigel Ellis, ecArtspace London, 2002 * Absolut Secret,

, London, 2002 − 2004, 2006 − 2010 * Drawings for All, Gainsborough's House, Suffolk, 2002 * The Contemporary Art Society, Art Futures, 2002 * German and English Painting Swap, Berlin/London, sponsored by the British Council and Goethe institut, 2002 * Drawing – Frances Aviva Blane with

, ecArtspace, London, 2001 * Galerie Stuhler, Berlin, 2000, 2001 * Jerwood Open Drawing Show award winner touring Berlin and Ghent, 2000 * Before, Now and After with Helen Sears and Sheila Gaffney, Berlin and London, 2000 * Painting with John Mclean, 53–54 St John's Square, London, 2000 * Chora, curated by Sue Hubbard, London and touring, 1999–2000 * The Cheltenham Open Drawing Show, 1999 * Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery East, 1999–2003 * In The Looking Glass, women contemporary self-portraits, Usher Gallery Lincoln and touring, 1996 * The London Group Biennial exhibition, Barbican Centre, 1995 * Royal Academy of Art,

Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, sc ...

, 1995 * Into the Nineties, Pick of the Postgraduates, showcase of new artists, Mall Galleries, 1993

Awards

* Jerwood Drawing Prize, 1999 * Mid-America ART Alliance Fellowship for Visual Arts, 1998 * Residency at Djerassi Artists' Foundation, California, 1998 * Graham Hamilton Drawing Prize, 1991

References

External links

Official site

De Queeste Art Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blane, Frances Aviva Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century British women artists 21st-century British women artists 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Artists from London British abstract artists English contemporary artists English Jews English people of Hungarian-Jewish descent English women painters Jewish painters People from Hampstead 20th-century English women 21st-century English women 21st-century English people