About the work

The drawing ‘On the Beach’ features an object that has relationships with both the work of Hans Bellmer and Pablo Picasso. It depicts a lumpen, anthropomorphic bulbous form, a bound assemblage of white pvc tape and ping pong balls. But let’s take off into the realms of fantasy , let’s imagine we are in the presence of a doll from Bellmer’s 1935 Berlin studio or maybe, pondering the title one might instead be transported to the South of France, the sunny Mediterranean, is that a Marie-Therese type bather basking in the sunshine ? Mmm, don’t want to get too far into some weird male art history sexual fantasy territory here so I’m hoping the drawing’s quiet atmosphere , it’s beige and cream softness will evoke the claustrophobia of another bunch of works from the 1930’s : the paintings of Paul Nash. That should put a dampener on things.

Date and country of birth

1967, GB

Career Highlights

Born in 1967, Neil Gall studied at Gray’s School of Art before attending the Slade School of Art, London, 1991–1993. He was Abbey Major Scholar, British School at Rome, 1993– 1994 and in 1996–1997 he was Artist-in-Residence at Durham Cathedral. Recent solo exhibitions include Day Release, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin (2024); HoltermannFine Art, Painting & Plinths, London and Lick my Decals, Primary Projects, Miami ( both forthcoming 2024); Covers and Counterfeits, The MAC, Belfast (2018); The Studio: Cover Versions, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds (2018); Against Nature, Aurel Scheibler, Berlin (2018) and Cut-Outs, Offcuts and Holes, David Nolan Gallery, New York (2015). Publications include: Neil Gall, Drawing, Ridinghouse (2020), Neil Gall: Works 2007–2011, Hatje Cantz (2012) and Neil Gall: Shelf Life, Black Dog Publishing (2007).