Frances Aviva Blane : Impossible

The first retrospective of British abstract expressionist painter, Frances Aviva Blane, curated
by filmmaker, Penny Woolcock, supported by writer and psychoanalyst, Susie Orbach

4 to 21 June 2026

Private/Press view: Wednesday 3 June from 6pm

Greatorex Street Gallery, 10 Greatorex Street, London E1 5NF

In-conversation event with psychoanalyst Susie Orbach, Frances Aviva Blane, art critic Anna
McNay, chaired by curator, Penny Woolcock: Tuesday 9 June at 7pm

This June, London’s Greatorex Street Gallery will host Impossible, the first dedicated retrospective
of work by British abstract expressionist painter, Frances Aviva Blane (b. 1958). This landmark
exhibition, running from 3 to 21 June, is curated by filmmaker, opera director and screenwriter,
Penny Woolcock (The Death of Klinghoffer, 1 Day) in close collaboration with long-standing
supporter, writer and renowned psychoanalyst, Susie Orbach. Together this trio of trailblazing
women will present an exhibition that unites abstract and figurative paintings and drawings -
including new works - with short films and live discussion to invite audiences into the richly-hued,
unforgettable world of Frances Aviva Blane.

Curator, Penny Woolcock: “This is a rare opportunity to experience Frances Aviva Blane’s
extraordinary, disturbing paintings and drawings. The first time I walked into Frances’ studio I felt as
though I was being punched in the gut and hugged at the same time. Seeing her paintings of
anguished faces makes me feel alive and less alone, ‘someone else has felt this way.’ Her abstracts
are beautiful and intriguing, inviting you to kind of dive into them and emerge again knowing you
have been somewhere else.”

For more than three decades, Frances Aviva Blane has explored the disintegration of paint and
personality. An alumni of Chelsea College, Byam Shaw and The Slade, she took up painting in her
mid 30s. Since then she has exhibited internationally alongside major figures including Louise
Bourgeois, Frank Auerbach and Basil Beattie. She enjoyed a close friendship with Paula Rego,
who was a regular studio visitor and early champion of her work. Rego once said to Blane: "It looks
like you've attacked your painting with a machete”.

Find out more here