The British painter Chantal Joffe is acclaimed for her intimate snapshots of domestic life, family and friends. In this exhibition, co-curated by the artist, portraits of Joffe’s daughter – dating from shortly after her birth to recent depictions of Esme at the age of 16, painted during lockdown – are displayed alongside a number of self-portraits, and a series depicting Esme’s care of her mother during a traumatic illness. Together, they capture the shifts and developments in the relationship between mother and daughter. Find out more from the Arnolfini’s website; you can also read Harriet Baker’s interview with Joffe from the May 2018 issue of Apollo here.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here
Esme (First Painting) (2004), Chantal Joffe. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro; © Chantal Joffe
Esme with a Striped Blanket (2008), Chantal Joffe. Photo: Jack Hems; courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro; © Chantal Joffe
Esme at the Kitchen Table (2020), Chantal Joffe. Photo: Benjamin Westoby; courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro; © Chantal Joffe
Me and Esme in the Garden (2020), Chantal Joffe. Photo: Benjamin Westoby; courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro; © Chantal Joffe
Esme at Sixteen (2020), Chantal Joffe. Photo: Benjamin Westoby; courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro; © Chantal Joffe
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Why are fathers so absent from art history?