Wendy Elia

Wendy Elia is a British figurative painter of Anglo/ Greek Cypriot descent: Academician at RWA (Royal West of England Academy), finalist in a number of national and international competitions including the National Portrait Gallery JPPA and BP Portrait Awards (4 times), Sovereign European Painting Prize (public vote winner), Ruth Borchard Self Portrait prize and many others. She was also the recipient of a grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation in NYC and part of the UK Cultural Olympics.

Her work is held in many public and private collections both in Britain and Internationally.

She trained at St. Martins School of Art London.

Wendy Elia works in series that explore the social and broader contexts of our times.

The thread linking all her paintings together is her constant representation and renegotiation of women’s roles (mostly using herself and her family and friends as models). In her most recent work Elia mines the rich traditions of western history painting, deftly weaving in references to iconic images such as Bacon’s indeterminate forms, and Piranesi’s torturous architecture of surveillance; using the compositions of Gentileschi’s oeuvre, where strong resistant women abound. These sit alongside stills from films or TV or footage from news reports in unsettling juxtapositions. This multifaceted approach not only critiques historical and contemporary injustices but also highlights the enduring nature of these themes through art. The reinterpretation of classic narratives within a modern context encourages viewers to reconsider the persistent and evolving nature of oppression, surveillance, and identity.