Biography
Florence Neal is an American printmaker, sculptor, painter, and curator based in Brooklyn, New York, who co-founded the Kentler International Drawing Space in Red Hook in 1990 and has served as its Executive Director and chief curator for over three decades. Through Kentler, Neal has created one of the most important platforms for contemporary drawing and mokuhanga in the United States, while simultaneously maintaining her own artistic practice.
Neal holds a BFA from Auburn University and grew up in Columbus, Georgia, near the Chattahoochee River -- a proximity to water that has profoundly shaped her artistic sensibility. Water has remained a dominant presence in her life and work, from the rivers of the American South to the waterways of New York City. Her mokuhanga prints employ the Japanese water-based woodblock technique to create richly colored images that explore themes of water, environment, and the natural forces that shape our world.
Her exhibition "Waters of the Future" at FiveMyles in Crown Heights, Brooklyn (2019) exemplified her engaged approach to art-making. The installation of water-based woodcut prints invited viewer participation, asking audiences to consider "What is the color of the water of the future?" and hand-printing their responses using the traditional mokuhanga technique. This merger of community engagement, environmental consciousness, and traditional craft reflects Neal's belief in art as a vehicle for social dialogue.
Earlier works include "Riddled Ripples -- Gihon River" (2006), a color woodblock print that demonstrates her ability to translate natural water patterns into the luminous, layered medium of mokuhanga. Her exhibition "Fire and Water: Prints by Florence Neal" at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University (2019) showcased her range across printmaking techniques, including a series of prints depicting fireworks displays from around the world alongside her water-themed mokuhanga works.
Neal's broader artistic career encompasses wind sculptures, installations, and public art commissions. Her outdoor wind sculpture "Four Winds" (1990) was installed in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, and "Dance of Life" (1993) was commissioned by the University of Alabama. She received a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant in 1990 and has completed residencies at the Woodstock School of Art and Sculpture Space. Her work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (NYC), New York Public Library, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Hofstra Museum. She serves on the International Mokuhanga Association's International Advisory Board and exhibited at the IMC 2024 Americas exhibition.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇺🇸United States
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
- Subjects
- LandscapesRivers & Lakes
- Works Indexed
- 2
Frequently Asked Questions
Florence Neal is an American printmaker, sculptor, painter, and curator based in Brooklyn, New York, who co-founded the Kentler International Drawing Space in Red Hook in 1990 and has served as its Executive Director and chief curator for over three decades. Through Kentler, Neal has created one of the most important platforms for contemporary drawing and mokuhanga in the United States, while simultaneously maintaining her own artistic practice.
Florence Neal's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.
Florence Neal's prints frequently feature landscapes, rivers & lakes.
Florence Neal is a contemporary printmaker whose work has been acquired by museum collections, confirming institutional recognition. Museum representation supports collector confidence. Prices range from $200 for smaller works to $5,000 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $500–$2,000 range. Museum-collected contemporary printmakers represent a strong value proposition, as institutional validation often precedes market appreciation.
