Issy Wood's Self-Portraits Launch Artist Focus at London's National Portrait Gallery

At the National Portrait Gallery in London, eleven self-portraits by British-American artist Issy Wood are currently displayed, marking the launch of Artist Focus, a series dedicated to contemporary artists who challenge traditional portraiture. The exhibition, titled Issy Wood: Self Portraits, is set to continue until 28 February 2027. Over the past five years, Wood has produced more than 80 self-portraits, initiated by a magazine's threat to send a photographer. She describes these pieces as 'the most consensual of all images of me.' Influenced by Renoir and the collage works of Höch and Stezaker, as well as the visual styles of advertising and social media, Wood, who was about 27 at the start, envisions a 50-year trajectory for this series. In 2023, the gallery added three of her smaller self-portraits to its collection.