Lydia Blakeley creates paintings of typically British scenes that one might see portrayed in tabloid magazines: scenes from horse races, from dog shows and from rowing competitions. She depicts the characters one might see at these events including the security guards and sniffer dogs who are stationed at the entrance; waiters in the hospitality tent; and tipsy patrons, some of whom have passed out. The paintings are a patchwork of British society with the characters captured in tabloid moments of enjoyment, distraction and oblivion.

Born 1980, Bracknell, Berkshire
Lives and works in North Yorkshire

Education
2019
MFA, Goldsmiths, London

2016
BA, Leeds College of Art, England

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2020
Dog Show, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Classics, Niru Ratnam Gallery, London
National Velvet, Alessandro Albanese Gallery, Matera, Italy
Looks like you’ve reached the end, Vortic London Collective, Hannah Barry Gallery, London
Hospitality, Steve Turner, Los Angeles

2019
Hellhole, Plaza Plaza, Elephant and Castle, London

2018
You’re Doing Amazing, Sweetie, Blenheim Walk, Leeds Arts University, England

2017
Leisure, Vernon Street Gallery, Leeds College of Art

Group Exhibitions
2021
Our World Two, Steve Turner, Los Angeles

2020
36th Annual Open Exhibition, Southwark Park Galleries, London
After Image, MAMOTH, London
Everyday Heroes, Southbank Centre, London
Begin Again, Guts Gallery, London
Suture, Niru Ratnam Gallery, London
Stäying Sane, Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery, Skanör, Sweden
Drawn Together, UNIT London
21st Figure, BC Projects, London
When Shit Hits the Fan, Guts Gallery, London
Office Space, Is This It?
Crowd, Hannah Barry Gallery, London
FBA Futures, Mall Galleries, London

2019
Pets, TOMA Project Space, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
Untitled, Miami Beach (with Steve Turner)
When Species Meet, Transition Two Gallery, Hackney, London
Fanspeak, Castlefield Galley, Manchester
Full English, Platform, Southwark, London
Sunday Art Fair (with Steve Turner), London
Goldsmiths MFA Degree Show, New Cross, London
Ultra: Art For the Women’s World Cup, J Hammond Projects, London
Plucky Pony Makes Break For Freedom, SET, Bermondsey, London
Mission To Touch The Sun: Sun Burnt, Paradise Works, Salford, Manchester
Utopia Through Nostalgia, The Koppel Project Hive, Holborn, London

2018
Young British Painters, Arthill Gallery, West Brompton, London
#34 Annual Open Exhibition, CGP Gallery, Southwark Park, London
GoldX, DeptfordX, London
Mission to Touch the Sun, Enclave, Deptford, London
Getting Away!, Quay Arts, Newport, Isle of Wight, England
For I’m not among the waders: The story of Zebedee, Post_Institute, Brixton, London
Getting Away, ArthouSE1, Bermondsey, London
Goldsmiths MFA Interim Show, Deptford, London
Duty Free. Is This It?, Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, London
Via…, Brockley, London

2017
Sydenham Arts, Sydenham, London
Fair Exchange, Syracuse University, New York

2016
Seven Days at LS6, LS6 cafe, Leeds
Northern Graduates 2016, Curwen Gallery, London
Free Range, Old Truman Brewery, London
Departures, Leeds College of Art
A Happy Medium, Leeds

2015
I’ll Show You Mine, Leon Collective HQ, Leeds
Ephemera, Studio 24, Leeds

Awards
2020
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Canada
The Minerva Prize, FBA Futures 2020, Mall Galleries, London

2018
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Canada

Bibliography
2021
Preston Zappas, Lindsay. “Paintings that encapsulate all the feels of 2020,” KCRW, January 5

2020
Grothen, Elina. “Lydia Blakeley Paints the Hottest Fashion Print of the Season,” ELLE, November 12
Garcia-Furtado, Laia. “Must Love Dogs,” VICE, August 28
Angelos, Ayla. “Drunks, races and whippets: the very British scenes of Lydia Blakeley,” It’s Nice That, January 13 

2019
“Who Were the Art World’s Biggest Crushes of 2019?” Elephant, December 19
Meinecke, Anna. “DOUBLE TAP #11: Lydia Blakelely,” Gallerytalk, December 16
“Lydia Blakeley Paints the Weird Corners of the Internet,” Elephant, December 11
McAra, Catriona. “Snooker Studies with Lydia Blakeley,” Soanyway, September
Michon, Alex. “Poolside Postgraduates,” Garageland, July 30
Battaglia, Lynn Seraina. “In the Studio with Lydia Blakeley: Deptford, London, 03.04.19,” She Performs, March 4

2018
Campbell, Hector. “‘Young London Painters’ Interview — Lydia Blakeley,” November 19

2017
Connelly, Laura. “Retro-style paintings toy with our nostagia for mid-century modernism,” Creative Boom, March 29