Lydia Blakeley
Lydia Blakeley was born in 1980 in Bracknell, Berkshire, and currently lives and works in North Yorkshire. She received her MFA Fine Art at Goldsmiths (2017-2019) and completed her BA(Hons) Fine Art from Leeds College of Art (2013-2016). Blakeley uses paint to reflect the present, which is saturated with snapshots of hyper-reality, and by using the medium as a response to popular culture. Through the painting process she attempts to introduce new layers of meaning, develop narratives and present alternative interpretations of our actuality. The painting process is essential for capturing the everyday, suspending the image in time, for the viewers contemplation. Aided through technologies, accumulating and redistributing signs by negotiating multiple temporalities, reflecting the globalised world. The materiality of her paintings reinforce the permanence of the image within an increasingly dematerialized world.
Recent solo exhibitions include Vocation. Blank_ Gallery, Leeds (2021); Dog Show, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles (2020); Classics. Niru Ratnam Gallery, London (2020); Hospitality, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles (2020); Hellhole, Plaza Plaza, Elephant and Castle, London (2019); You’re Doing Amazing, Sweetie, The Boardroom, Blenheim Walk, Leeds Arts University (2018) and Leisure, Vernon Street Gallery, Leeds College of Art (2017).
Whilst group shows include Love is the Devil: Studies after Francis Bacon. Marlborough, London (2022); Mixing it Up: Painting Today. Hayward Gallery, London (2021); Everyday Heroes. Southbank Centre, London (2020); Suture. Niru Ratnam Gallery, London; Crowd. Hannah Barry Gallery, London (2020); FBA Futures 2020. Mall Galleries, London (2020); When Species Meet, Transition Two Gallery, Hackney, London (2019); Fanspeak, Castlefield Galley, Manchester (2019); Full English, Platform, Southwark, London (2019); Ultra: Art for the Women’s World Cup, J.Hammond Projects, London (2019)
Recent solo exhibitions include Vocation. Blank_ Gallery, Leeds (2021); Dog Show, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles (2020); Classics. Niru Ratnam Gallery, London (2020); Hospitality, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles (2020); Hellhole, Plaza Plaza, Elephant and Castle, London (2019); You’re Doing Amazing, Sweetie, The Boardroom, Blenheim Walk, Leeds Arts University (2018) and Leisure, Vernon Street Gallery, Leeds College of Art (2017).
Whilst group shows include Love is the Devil: Studies after Francis Bacon. Marlborough, London (2022); Mixing it Up: Painting Today. Hayward Gallery, London (2021); Everyday Heroes. Southbank Centre, London (2020); Suture. Niru Ratnam Gallery, London; Crowd. Hannah Barry Gallery, London (2020); FBA Futures 2020. Mall Galleries, London (2020); When Species Meet, Transition Two Gallery, Hackney, London (2019); Fanspeak, Castlefield Galley, Manchester (2019); Full English, Platform, Southwark, London (2019); Ultra: Art for the Women’s World Cup, J.Hammond Projects, London (2019)
