Aliza Nisenbaum

Aliza Nisenbaum (b.1977, Mexico) is a New York based painter best known for her bright, large-scale portraits of community groups. Inspired by the dedication of Liverpool's key workers, the artist has created a series of new paintings of NHS staff from Merseyside who have worked tirelessly for their community during the pandemic.

The exhibition captures the stories of frontline NHS workers and highlights the impact that Covid-19 has had on their jobs and home lives. Sitters include a professor of Outbreak Medicine, a respiratory doctor who became a father during the first wave, and a student nurse who comes from a family of nurses who all chose to return to frontline work.

Throughout August, Nisenbaum got to know the selected NHS staff, talking to them via video link from her studio in the US. She uses these conversations to include elements of their personality and interests within her paintings. They are shown alongside things that have given them support and hope through this difficult time, such as pets or musical instruments.

Visitors to our gallery will be able to see the two new large-scale group portraits and eleven individual portraits. The paintings will sit alongside three films, one of which documents the creation of the new work for Liverpool as well as paintings created over the last five years, including London Underground: Brixton Station and Victoria Line 2019, the artist’s largest composition to date.

Supported by The Tate Liverpool Commissioning Circle, the Embassy of Mexico in the United Kingdom and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation