Lisa Brice
b. 1968, South Africa
Lisa Brice is best known for her arresting representations of the female nude, Brice recontextualises and reclaims the pervasive and objectifying art historical visualisations of the female body in her art. Primarily working in painting and drawing, Brice’s visual lexicon often draws parallels with the portrayals of traditionally lauded male artists – ranging from Degas, Manet, Vallotton and Picasso – transposing their figures with an aura of individuality and self-assurance, even sensual provocation. Variously depicted in interior or studio settings, her muses often appear as both painter and model invoking a subtle, yet potent narrative transition from subject to author. Similarly, their props, including cigarettes, paint brushes, mirrors and easels act as recurring motifs that either amplify gesture or obscure, elucidating a psychologically charged and nuanced view of feminine agency.
Lisa Brice (b. 1968, Cape Town) graduated from Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town in 1990. She has exhibited internationally with major recent solo shows including at Charleston Trust, Lewes, England (2021); Smoke and Mirrors, KM21, The Hague (2020); Art Now: Lisa Brice, Tate Britain, London (2018). She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including A Century of the Artist’s Studio 1920–2020, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2022); Women Painting Women, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth (2022); Mixing It Up: Painting Today, Hayward Gallery, London (2021); Life Between Islands: Caribbean–British Art 50s – Now, Tate Britain, London (2021); A Contemporary Collection, Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield (2020) and Home Truths: Domestic Interiors in South African Collections, South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2016). For over a decade, Brice spent time between the UK and Trinidad following residencies at the Gasworks, London, in 1998 and at CCA7, Trinidad, in 1999-2000; she now lives and works in London.