Untitled

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall

In Untitled, Brice’s female figure leans nonchalantly, feet crossed, against what appears to be a plinth, seemingly stepping down from the nude’s previous incarnation as models, muses and objects of desire envisioned by male artists in the Western artistic canon. By contrast, Brice’s work foregrounds the female gaze. Her female subjects are depicted as autonomous individuals engaged in their own activities. Rather than portraits of specific sitters, the women in Brice’s work gesture towards the emancipation and empowerment of the female body.

As seen in Untitled, Bright works with cobalt blue to interrupt interpretations of skin colour. Blue has a wide range of references, from the Virgin Mary’s cloak to the work of European modernists, including Henri Matisse (1869–1954), Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) and Yves Klein (1928–1962). For Brice, who previously lived in Trinidad, the colour is additionally associated with the Caribbean Carnival celebration, J’Ouvert, where participants cover themselves with mud or typically blue paint as an act of liberation.  

Brice was born in South Africa and studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town before settling in London in 1998. Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Charleston Trust, Lewes (2021); KM21, The Hague (2020) and Tate Britain, London (2018). Group exhibitions featuring her work have been held at institutions including Tate Modern, London (2024); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2022); Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, US (2022); Tate Britain, London (2021-22); Hayward Gallery, London (2021); Camden Art Centre, London (2016); and South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2016). Her paintings are in major public collections including those of Tate, London; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, US; Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.; Johannesburg Art Gallery; South African National Gallery, Cape Town; and X Museum, Beijing.

Places

Subjects

Materials & Techniques

Artist

Lisa Brice (1968 - )

Title

Untitled

Date

2023

Medium

11 colour screenprint

Dimensions

height: 76cm; width 60cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Counter Editions, January 2024

Inscription

bl: 28/100 ; br: signature, 23

Provenance

Counter Editions, Margate UK; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 15 January 2024

GAC number

19250/6