The Exhibition: From the 60s on

Having  been reluctant to exhibit his work for decades, now, as he turns 80 this year, Neil Stokoe is showing paintings for the first time. From the 60s On at The Redfern Gallery, in Mayfair's Cork Street, marks an important moment in his career as he presents previously unseen large-scale paintings.

 

Stokoe studied at the Royal College of Art from 1959-62. There, along with his contemporaries R.B Kitaj, David Hockney, Frank Bowling, Derek Boshier, Pauline Boty, Peter Phillips and Patrick Caulfield, he would herald a golden age for the College. It was in the early Sixties that Stokoe also became friends with Francis Bacon, who he met when cycling through South Kensington, enjoying regular lunches, gallery visits and drinking sessions at the French House in Soho. His time spent with Bacon was an important part of his formative years.

 

Having painted continuously since his time at the RCA, Stokoe is finally stepping out of the studio and showing the paintings that represent the first twenty years of his career. This exhibition is long overdue and presents an opportunity for his work to be given the recognition it deserves.