BIOGRAPHY

Neil Raitt’s paintings are compositions of endlessly repeated cabins, mountains, ponds, trees and other natural motifs. Exploring the idea of repetition itself as a form of abstraction, Raitt’s work addresses landscape painting and the accessibility of its figurative form. With gestures adopted from Bob Ross’ television program The Joy of Painting, Raitt utilizes identifiable imagery in his intricate patterns that suspend the atmospheric effect of landscape and its illusion of space, dispersing any sense of perspective. His labyrinthine patterning and ceaseless repetition suggest the imagery upon the canvas as a limitless flat patchwork that stretches into infinity. While Raitt’s work implies an accelerated machine-like production process, his work is borne of time-consuming and heavily labored oil painting. Raitt’s technical skill in painting modernizes the traditional landscape, deconstructing its figurative language with an approach that is neither wholly kitsch nor fully abstracted.

EXHIBITIONS

Staycation, April 7 – May 30, 2020

Misty Rock, September 9 – October 21, 2017

Happy Painting, April 18 – May 30, 2015

CV

Neil Raitt

1986

Born in Leicester, UK

Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

Education

2013

MA Painting, Royal College of Art

2009

BA (Hons) Degree Fine Art, Norwich University College of the Arts

Solo Exhibitions

2019

Art Athina, with Anat Ebgi, Athens, GR

2018

Imitation Sand, Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris, FR

2017

Misty Rock, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA

2016

SUNDAY Art Fair, with Anat Ebgi, London UK

Chasing Bridges, The Cabin, Los Angeles, CA

Landscapetual, Mon Chéri Gallery, Brussels, BE

Fantasy Traveller, Nicelle Beauchene, New York, NY

2015

Happy Painting, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA

2014

CABINECTOMY, Goss-Michael Foundation Residency, Dallas, TX

Catlin Art Prize, Londonewcastle Project Space, London, UK

Group Exhibitions

2020

Staycation, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA

2019

Abstracted, Rental Gallery, East Hampton, NY

Frieze Art Fair, London, with Kalfayan Gallery

Frieze Art Fair, Los Angeles, with Anat Ebgi

The Conversation, Anat Ebgi at Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA

2018

Art Toronto, with Anat Ebgi, Toronto, CA

Mythologies of a Sublime, Pedro Cera Gallery, Lisbon, PT

Sky Above Clouds, Darrow Contemporary, Aspen, CO

DPAM Collects: Happy Little Trees and Other Recent Acquisitions, DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL

As You Like It, Praz-Delavellade, Los Angeles, CA

The Armory, with Anat Ebgi, New York, NY

Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA

2017

Small Enough to Keep Me Happy, Big Enough To Keep Me Occupied. Curated by Jon Pilkington, Eighteen Gallery, Copenhagen, DK

Coquet Mais Pas Trop, Centre d’art contemporain La Halle des bouchers, Vienne, FR

First Star, Last Snowflake, curated by Garance Chabert, Villa Du Parc centre d’art contemporain, Annemasse, FR

Currents, Lin & Lin Gallery, Tai Pei, Taiwan

Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA

2016

Divers, Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris, FR

EXPO Chicago, with Anat Ebgi, Chicago, IL

miart, with Anat Ebgi, Milan, IT

Neil Raitt, Joshua Sex and Alfred Wallis, Brendan Lynch’s Porch Museum, New York, NY

The Hermits’ Cave, with Joshua Sex, theporchmuseum, New York, NY

2015

POST-ANALOG PAINTING, The Hole, New York, NY

Art Los Angeles Contemporary, with Anat Ebgi, Santa Monica, CA

2014

Jack, Neil, Shane, Gareth and Matthew, Choi & Lager, Cologne, DE

Re-Define, Group show & Charity Auction, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, TX

Morphol Scowl, Piccadilly Place, Manchester, UK

The Back of Beyond: Neil Raitt, Adam Bainbridge & Sam Irons, Hus Gallery, London, UK

London Art Fair: Art Projects, with The Catlin Guide, London, UK

2013

Painting Show and Performances, organized by Mathis Gasser, Winter Projects, London, UK

Buddy System Invitational, Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR

SHOW RCA, Royal College of Art, London, UK

SATELIKE, Departure Foundation, London, UK

Spooky Action, Blyth Gallery, London, UK

Form From Form, Matthews Yard, Greater London, UK

Near That Place, with Freya Douglas-Morris and Nicholas Johnson, Hockney Gallery, RCA, London, UK

2012

Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK

Painting Summer Show, 15 Howie Street, London, UK

DRUMM, Queen of Hoxton, London, UK

Young Master’s Exhibition and Auction, Rupert Cavendish, London, UK

WIP, Royal College of Art, London, UK

2011

Time and Travel, Ku’ Damm 101, Berlin, DE

RCA Secret, Royal College of Art, London, UK

Summer In The City, Ben Uri Gallery, London, UK

At Play 3, South Hill Park, Berkshire, UK

Somewhere, KT Contemporary, Dublin, IE

2010

Artist’s Advent Window, Wolf & Badger, London, UK

Ishihara 13, The Book Club, London, UK

Open, Open!, Swiss Cottage Library, London, UK

2009

Hans Brinker Budget Trophy, Hans Brinker Hotel, Amsterdam, NL

Open 21, The City Gallery, Leicester, UK

Intern Show, Salem Art Works, New York, NY

Degree Show, Norwich University of The Arts, Norwich, UK

Collections

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

Cedars-Sinai Collection, Los Angeles, CA

DePaul Art Museum, Chicago

The Saatchi Collection, London

The Franks-Suss Collection, London

Prizes and Awards

2016

Northern Trust Purchase Prize

2014

The Catlin Art Prize

2013

Artist in residence, Martini Arte Internazionale, Turin, Italy (July – September 2013)

2009

The Attenborough Prize

2008

Hans Brinker Budget Trophy

Publications

2017

Neil Raitt. Los Angeles: Anat Ebgi Gallery, 2017. With texts by Ansel Krut, Lxo Cohen, and an interview with Lauren Bergman.

Press

2018

Kelly Crow, "A Renaissance for Bob Ross: Fans Want the ‘Joy of Painting’ Host to Have a Spot in Art History," Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2018.

Alexxa Gotthardt, "How Bob Ross Became Everyone’s Favorite Art Teacher," Artsy, February 15, 2018. (Link)

"‘Imitation Sand’ by Neil Raitt at Valentin, Paris," OFluxo, February 13, 2018. (Link)

"Neil Raitt at Valentin, Paris," Cura Magazine, February 10, 2018.

"Imitation Sand," Paris Art, February 8, 2018.

2017

Edward Goldman, “Neil Raitt,” Art Talk, KCRW, 89.9, Los Angeles, CA, October 24, 2017.

Edward Goldman, “Sizzling Weather, Cool Art,” Huffington Post, October 24, 2017. (Link)

Annabel Osberg, “Neil Raitt,” Artillery Magazine, September 21, 2017. (Link)

2016

Jennifer S. Li, “Neil Raitt at The Cabin,” Art in America, November 2016.

Kenny Schachter, “Kenny Schachter Comes Out to Play at Frieze London,” artnet, October 11, 2016.

Andrew M. Goldstein, “5 Artists to Watch at the Sunday Art Fair 2016,” Artspace, October 7, 2016.

Rachel Spence, “Frieze satellite fairs: Sunday, Moniker, The Other Art Fair – review,” The Financial Times, October 8, 2016.

Emily Steer, “Sunday Art Fair: Gallery Picks,” Elephant Magazine, October 6, 2016.

Hannah Hayes-Westall, “Top 6 artists at Sunday art fair,” FAD Magazine, October 6, 2016.

Nate Freeman, “Sunday, the Young Fair in London During Frieze, Opens with Solid Sales, Chill Vibes,” Artnews, October 6, 2016.

“Neil Raitt Exhibition at MonCheri, Brussels,” Purple Magazine, June 28, 2016.

Federica Tattoli, “Interview with Neil Raitt,” Fruit of the Forest, April 2016.

Federica Tattoli, “Anat Ebgi at miart 2016,” Fruit of the Forest, April 2016.

2015

Harriet Thorpe, “INTERVIEW: Catching up with Neil Raitt,” FAD Magazine, August 6, 2015.

Domenico de Chirico, “Happy Painting, Anat Ebgi,” Aujourd’hui, May 9, 2015.

2014

“Q&A with Neil Raitt,” MTV Redefine Blog, November 2014.

“Neil Raitt: CABINECTOMY,” Glasstire, October 22, 2014.

“Five young artists to look out for,” Artfund, May 14, 2014.

Harriet Thorpe, “INTERVIEW: Neil Raitt by Harriet Thorpe Caitlin Art Prize #7,” FAD Magazine, May 1, 2014.

2013

Emily Beber, “Art: Neil Raitt’s hypnotic landscapes will mess with your mind,” It’s Nice That, August 28, 2013.