Chantal Joffe

Chantal Joffe (b. 1969) is a British painter celebrated for her psychologically incisive portraits and large-scale figurative canvases. Born in Vermont before moving to England at the age of 13, she studied at Glasgow School of Art and completed her MA at the Royal College of Art in London. Joffe’s work has consistently focused on the human figure, often depicting women and children in compositions that balance tenderness with unflinching honesty.

Working with expressive, sweeping brushstrokes, she captures the vulnerability and complexity of her subjects, whether family members, friends, models or herself. Her portraits frequently play with scale, rendering intimate moments on monumental canvases, while her use of distortion conveys both physical presence and emotional truth. Joffe’s influences range from Alice Neel and Paula Modersohn-Becker to photography and contemporary fashion imagery, yet her style remains distinctly her own.

Over the years, she has developed a deeply personal body of work that charts relationships, motherhood, identity and the passage of time. Self-portraiture, in particular, has become central to her practice, allowing her to explore the shifting realities of female experience with candour and wit.

Joffe has exhibited widely, including at the Whitechapel Gallery, the Royal Academy and Victoria Miro in London. Her work is held in major collections such as Tate, the National Portrait Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, securing her reputation as one of the leading figurative painters of her generation.