Lize Bartelli explores identity and desire in ‘The Hour of the Star’

Opening on January 23rd, 2026, The Hour of the Star marks Lize Bartelli’s second London presentation and positions itself as one of the most anticipated London art exhibitions of the season. Presented by Roman Road as part of the Visiting Curators Initiative at Pipeline, the exhibition runs from January 23rd to February 21st, 2026, offering an intimate yet striking meditation on how identity is constructed, performed, and exposed in the digital age.

Bartelli’s new body of work examines the fragile moment where inner emotion meets outward display. Through painting, she traces how personas are shaped and exaggerated, asking where genuine desire ends and the performance of becoming begins. Known for navigating the space between figuration and abstraction, the artist transforms recognisable forms into metaphors, allowing emotion and gesture to take precedence over literal representation.

One of the most striking London art exhibitions to watch in 2026

The exhibition brings together fourteen new paintings in varying formats, curated by Marisa Bellani. Scale plays a crucial role, shifting between small, intimate works and larger, more commanding canvases, mirroring the oscillation between private self and public image. Bartelli’s brushwork moves fluidly from pop-inflected passages to moments of heightened realism, underscoring the performative tension embedded within each composition.

The symbolism of red as material and metaphor

Central to the exhibition is Bartelli’s sustained exploration of the symbolism of red, most notably through the recurring gesture of overdrawing red lipstick. Here, red serves as a symbol of both aspiration and provocation, exuding sensuality, theatre and instability. The colour punctuates fragile, skin-toned surfaces, asserting itself as a visual force while signalling contradiction and emotional intensity.

Two anchor works, Marilyn and Clarice Lispector, establish a dialogue between opposing visions of femininity. One evokes hyper-visibility and cultural myth, while the other reflects vulnerability and uncertainty, inspired by the protagonist of Lispector’s The Hour of the Star. Elsewhere, the quadriptych Carioca expands Bartelli’s inquiry into bodily display and social codes, subtly referencing beauty rituals and surface performance.

Throughout the exhibition, Lize Bartelli invites viewers to reflect on how identity is negotiated across physical and virtual realms. By transforming familiar symbols into sites of tension, The Hour of the Star offers a nuanced portrait of becoming—one that feels both deeply personal and acutely contemporary.

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