Frances Blane (right) with Marliese Heimann-Ammon

Frances Aviva Blane (née Sternberg), is a British abstract painter who works in the Expressionist tradition. Her subject matter is the disintegration of paint and personality. Although her paintings are mainly non-referential, her drawings are often portraits of heads.

She has exhibited alongside Frank Auerbach, Basil Beattie and John McLean in Europe, Japan, Australia and the UK.

Portrait (2020) by Frances Aviva Blane oil and linen 90x90 cm. Photographer Richard Ivey

“Blane’s abstract paintings, however, demand ‘more attention, more focus, more effort’. While both the abstracts and the Heads speak the same language of paint, the Heads might be seen as a one-step translation of the artist into paint, while the abstracts go a step further, becoming almost a meta-language of paint, speaking on its own terms, with the artist entirely removed. Blane suggests this might be one reason why Rothko’s colour-field paintings are so powerful: because there’s nothing there. Viewers are confronted by their own existence, their own death, their own mortality. By darkness.”

Anna McNay, art critic

I am abjectly drawn to Blane’s head paintings and drawings. They are haunting, unsettling, uncomfortable; there’s a sense of the monstro/monstrare about them. Monstro is Latin for monster, monstrare is a Latin verb meaning to show or reveal. Both terms have the same etymological roots. But these are not kitsch works of gothic-style horror or Munchian screams of despair.”

Manick Govinda, independent arts consultant, artists’ mentor, writer and curator

“Frances’ heads generate questions about the head and about the self. What is a head? What is a self? There is a brain with 10 billion neurons firing – connecting from one to 30 times a second. There are the senses perceived through our sight, our smell, our touch, our taste and our hearing. Personal experience – what we call the mind and consciousness – occurs through what meaning we make of affects.

“Frances’ aesthetic is flooded with affect, no more clearly than in her heads. She enables us to see and when we can dare to hold the gaze we read aspects of the human condition which lie outside the polite. To look at these heads is to feel. Yes, we may wish to turn away. If we can bear to stay, their physicality enters into us. The heads thrum. They are not flat. They are alive. They beseech the viewer to see, if she or he can hold on to the feelings that likely flood in.”

Dr Susie Orbach, psychotherapist and author

“Three years ago, Frances presented me with a framed drawing of myself. I look spiky, deranged, focussed, relentless. I recognise myself in this picture although interestingly, nobody who knows me sees any resemblance. Frances is clearly struggling not only to capture a superficial likeness but to dig deeper into what she feels about her subject, as serious painters have always done.”

Penny Woolcock, film director

“Obviously, Blane’s work starts with drawing and writing, and the outline of a face is, anyway, always a drawing on paper. Embarrassed by the drawings of faces she did some time ago whilst at the Slade and Byam Shaw art schools, Blane also works with an important and undeniable relation to writing in which there is no hierarchy of intention, subject, or point. A self-portrait can be obtuse, blunt, and obscure, and really not at all about a perceived likeness to anything seen from the outside, inside, or anywhere else.”

Sacha Craddock, art critic, writer and curator

Education

Blane studied at Chelsea School of Art (1988), Byam Shaw School of Painting and Drawing (1991) and the Slade School of Fine Art, London (1993).

Films

  • Who is Frances Aviva Blane? (2020) directed by Penny Woolcock, camera Leo Regan, editing Alex Fry

Books

  • ON PAINT (2022)[1] by Sacha Craddock and Frances Aviva Blane.
  • AUGUST (2022)[2] by Susie Orbach and Frances Aviva Blane.
  • FRANCES (2021)[3] by Susie Orbach, Eddy Frankel and Corinna Lotz.[4]
  • COVID (2020)[5] by Susie Orbach 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)[6] Blane, Orbach, Woolcock. A book accompanying the film of the same name directed by Penny Woolcock.
  • FAB by Frances Aviva Blane[7][8][9][10] with introduction by Susie Orbach was published by Starmount Publications in 2019.
  • MORE Works on Paper by Frances Aviva Blane with essay by Mark Gisbourne was published by Starmount Publications in January 2018[11].
  • 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 was published by Starmount Publications in 2017.
  • NOTHING by Frances Aviva Blane,[12] a book of paintings and works on paper with a catalogue essay by Diana Souhami was published by Starmount Publications in 2015.

Exhibitions

Installation view (2016) of Frances Aviva Blane show Two Faces at the German Ambassador's Residence, London

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 (1999) and took part in their exhibition Drawing Breath, an anniversary show.

Blane has been included in many group shows including Chora[13] (London and touring the UK) curated by art critic Sue Hubbard and Women's Contemporary Self Portraits at the Usher Gallery (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 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 in 2004 and at Our Most Holy Redeemer Church in Exmouth Market.

Selected solo shows

  • Frances Aviva Blane, The Brave Truth, at Zuleika Gallery, Oxfordshire, UK,  November 2022
  • Frances Aviva Blane, Fired with Claudia Clare, Gallery 286, London, October 2022
  • Frances Aviva Blane, Dark, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium from 11 November to 9 December 2018[14][15]
  • Blane. Broken Heads, Broken Paint,[16] 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[17][18][19][20]
  • Deconstruct, Frances Aviva Blane shown alongside exhibitions of Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2014[21][22]
  • Big Black Paintings, Bay Hall, King's College London, 2014[23][24]
  • Frances Aviva Blane, Paintings & Drawings, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2013[25]
  • Paintings and Works on Paper, Quest 21, Brussels, 2011[26]
  • Portrait/Painting, Shillam and Smith3 London, 2006
  • Prime Time: Painting, Frances Aviva Blane – paintings & drawings at Galerie Seitz & Partner, Berlin, 2006[27]
  • 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[28]
  • Berry House Solo x 9: artists in Clerkenwell – including Susan Hiller, 1998[29]
  • Frances Aviva Blane Drawing, Shillam Smith 3, 1997[30]
  • F Blane Only, curated by Andrew Mummery, London, 1996
  • Curwen Gallery, London, curated by Andrew Mummery, 1995

Selected group shows

  • Curated at Dorfold Hall – British art then and now. A group show at Zuleika Gallery, Oxfordshire, UK, December 2023
  • Salon van de Tekening. A group show with Frank Auerbach, George Grosz and Erich Heckel. De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou Belgium, March 2023
  • Basil Beattie + Frances Blane drawings and paintings, (20th anniversary show), ecArtspace, Burgh House, London, 2022
  • Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, London, 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 at www.ecartspace.com and Lemnos Greece, 2021
  • Fragmented,[31] 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,[32] Walker Gallery, Liverpool, 2018
  • HUMAN, The German Embassy, London, October 2017
  • Creekside Open 2017 selected by Jordan Baseman
  • Liquid Thought,[33] with Daniel Enkaoua and Chris Stevens, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2016
  • Impact, with Louise Bourgeois, Marthe Zink, De Queeste Kunstkamers, Abele/Watou, Belgium, 2016[34]
  • 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, London, 2013[35]
  • Drawing Breath, Jerwood Anniversary Exhibition,[36] London, Sydney, Bristol, 2006 – 2008
  • Annely Juda A Celebration. Annely Juda Fine Art, London, 2007
  • Marlborough Fine Art, The London Print Fair, 2006
  • Blind Art, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, 2005
  • Sense and Sensuality, Blind Art, London, New York, Leicester, 2006[37]
  • Blind Art, Royal College of Art, 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, Mike Silva, Die Drostei, Pinneberg, 2004
  • The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries London, 2004
  • Art Works in Mental Health, Royal College of Art, London, touring Cardiff, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, 2003
  • Dialogue with Nigel Ellis, ecArtspace London, 2002[38]
  • Absolut Secret, Royal College of Art, 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 Basil Beattie, ecArtspace, London, 2001[39][40]
  • 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[41]
  • Painting with John Mclean, 53–54 St John's Square, London, 2000
  • Chora, curated by Sue Hubbard, London and touring, 1999–2000[42]
  • 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, 1995
  • Into the Nineties, Pick of the Postgraduates, showcase of new artists, Mall Galleries, 1993[43]

Awards

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

References

  1. ↑ Sacha, Craddock; Frances Aviva, Blane (30 September 2022). On Paint (1 ed.). London: Starmount Publishers. ISBN 9781739606008.
  2. ↑ Susie, Orbach; Frances Aviva, Blane (9 December 2022). August (1 ed.). London: Starmount Publishers. ISBN 9781739606015.
  3. ↑ Susie, Orbach; Eddy, Frankel; Corinna, Lotz (5 August 2023). FRANCES (1 ed.). London: Starmount Publishers. ISBN 9780993421877.
  4. ↑ Manick, Govinda. "Book Review: FRANCES. - Manick Govinda". Authory. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Orbach, Susie; Blane, Frances (5 August 2023). COVID. Starmount Publications. ISBN 978-0-9934218-7-7.
  6. ↑ Blane, Frances; Orbach, Susie; Woolcock, Penny (13 November 2020). Who is Frances Aviva Blane? (1 ed.). London: Starmount Publications. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-9934218-5-3.
  7. ↑ Blane, Frances Aviva (August 2019). FAB. London: Starmount Publications. ISBN 978-0-99342184-6.
  8. ↑ Lotz, Corinna. "Who am I?". Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  9. ↑ Oldham, Alison (11 May 2018). "If There's one Work I'd Like to Take Home". Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  10. ↑ Weston, Jane (13 November 2019). "Glass reviews new book of paintings, FAB, by British artist Frances Aviva Blane". theglassmagazine.com. Glass Magazine. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  11. ↑ Blane, Frances Aviva (January 2018). MORE. London: Starmount Publications. ISBN 978-0-99342182-2.
  12. ↑ Blane, Frances (30 September 2015). NOTHING (1,000 ed.). London: Starmount Publications. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-9934218-0-8.
  13. ↑ Hubbard, Sue. "Chora Frances Aviva Blane 1999". Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Corinna, Lotz (31 October 2018). "Frances Aviva Blane: The Human Touch". www.irkmagazine.com. Irk Magazine. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  15. ↑ Weston, Jane. "Dark – Frances Aviva Blane opens new show at de Queeste Art gallery". www.thepurposeofit.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  16. ↑ Weston, Jane (29 May 2018). "Preview of Frances Aviva Blane's latest show – Broken Heads Broken Paint". Glass Magazine Online. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Lotz, Corinna. "It isn't masks now, it's faces – Two Faces, paintings and drawings by Frances Aviva Blane, is at the German Ambassador's Residence, 34 Belgrave Square SW1, until 31 January 2017". The Critics' Circle. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "Two Faces: Frances Aviva Blane". De Queeste Art. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "Vernissage of 'Two Faces' – a new exhibition at the Ambassador's Residence". German Missions in the United Kingdom. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  20. ↑ Pizzichini, Lilian. "Two Faces Opens at German Ambassador's Residence, London". The Purpose of It. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  21. ↑ Lui, Louise. "The Three Bs in Belgium". The Glass Magazine Online. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  22. ↑ Simpson, Caroline (11 September 2014). "Draw You In". The Glass Magazine Online. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  23. ↑ Gulliver, John. "You'll be driven to abstraction by Blane exhibition in Hampstead, Camden New Journal". Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "Frances Aviva Blane, Big Black Paintings, Hampstead School of Art". Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  25. ↑ Kos Earle, Nico (5 March 2013). "The mark of FAB". The Glass Magazine Online. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  26. ↑ Lotz, Corinna. "Heart of darkness". aworldtowin.net. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Before and after". ecartspace.com. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  28. ↑ "Delinquent Paintings Frances Aviva Blane". ecartspace.com. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "Berry House Solo x 9: artists in Clerkenwell". ecartspace.com.
  30. ↑ Lotz, Corinna. "21st Century Art Frances Aviva Blane". aworldtowin.net.
  31. ↑ Connie, de Pelet (16 October 2020). "Glass previews Fragmented – an exhibition at Zuleika Gallery, London". theglassmagazine.com. Glass Magazine. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  32. ↑ Lotz, Corinna. "In the Beginning was the Mark". Real Democracy Movement. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  33. ↑ "Liquid Thought". De Queeste Art. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  34. ↑ "Impact". De Queeste Art. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  35. ↑ Kos Earle, Nico. "Frances Aviva Blane: Critics Choice at Critics Circle show at Mall Galleries". The Glass Magazine Online. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  36. ↑ "Drawing Breath: Jerwood Drawing Prize 2007". absolutearts.com. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  37. ↑ "Gallery, Blind Art Sense and Sensuality: Touch". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  38. ↑ "Frances Blane + Nigel Ellis". ecartspace.com. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  39. ↑ "Dialogue – Frances Blane + Nigel Ellis". ecartspace.com. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  40. ↑ "Drawing ecArtspace, London". undo.net. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  41. ↑ Philppi, Andrea. "Replicants, dark depths and an eroded Venus B Before, Now and After – a show in Berlin and in London". sheilagaffney.com. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  42. ↑ Hubbard, Sue. "Chora Frances Aviva Blane". uehubbard.com/. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  43. ↑ Alberge, Dalya. "Contemporary Art Market: Unknowns given a showcase". The Independent. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
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