The introduction of perspex to Neate’s paintings during 2009 had a dramatic impact on his working practice.
In the solo show A NEW UNDERSTANDING After the ‘GREY PORTRAIT’ in which he introduced sweeping panels of curved perspex, with bent metal facial features, he pared back the very essence of ‘the portrait’ in ‘RED PORTRAIT’
Challenging and abstract, with a Gabo-esque restraint, this portrait incorporated elegant touches, such as the ‘floating’ circular disc to represent the shoulder which would become a recurring element in Neate’s vocabulary.