Neja's Art Walks

Neja's Art Walks Art historian and official Tate Modern guide offering private tours of Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National Gallery, the V&A and London's major exhibitions.

Art historian and official Tate Modern guide offering private tours of London's leading art galleries and exhibitions.

Looking for a Father's Day gift that won't end up in a drawer?NEJA's Art Walks gift vouchers offer something a little di...
17/06/2026

Looking for a Father's Day gift that won't end up in a drawer?

NEJA's Art Walks gift vouchers offer something a little different: a guided visit to one of London's great museums or galleries with a good-humoured art historian, featuring stories, conversations and artworks that stay with you long after the day is over.

The £80 voucher is valid until 31 December 2026 and can be used for a guided walk at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection or the V&A.
Want to make it a shared experience? One additional person can join the Art Walk for an extra £40.

Ideal for art lovers, curious minds, London explorers, or anyone who already has enough socks.

To reserve a voucher or ask a question, please send me a message.

An exhibition of Julio Le Parc has just opened at Tate Modern. Until today, I knew very little about him, but his art le...
15/06/2026

An exhibition of Julio Le Parc has just opened at Tate Modern. Until today, I knew very little about him, but his art left me smiling.

The exhibition brings together interactive installations, shimmering light sculptures and large-scale geometric works spanning a remarkable career from the late 1950s to the present day.

Le Parc is best known for his pioneering kinetic art, using light, movement and reflective surfaces to draw viewers into the work. Rather than creating art to be passively observed, he wanted the viewer’s movement, perception and participation to become part of the experience. There is something refreshingly democratic about that idea: art that invites everyone in.

Born in Argentina in 1928, Le Parc moved to France in 1958 and became part of the vibrant Parisian art scene of the 1960s, while maintaining strong ties to Latin America. Now in his nineties, he continues to surprise, delight and challenge audiences — much like the artworks themselves.

This June, Sotheby’s London is exhibiting a selection of works from the Lewis Collection, one of the most important priv...
13/06/2026

This June, Sotheby’s London is exhibiting a selection of works from the Lewis Collection, one of the most important private collections of modern figurative art. The display brings together major paintings by artists including Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Amedeo Modigliani, Gustave Caillebotte, Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. Spanning roughly 150 years of art history, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see significant works by some of the defining figures of modern art, many of which have remained in private hands until now.

To book our Mayfair art walk, please get in touch.

Hello and welcome to all the new followers who have recently joined NEJA's Art Walks!For those who don't know me, I'm Ju...
12/06/2026

Hello and welcome to all the new followers who have recently joined NEJA's Art Walks!

For those who don't know me, I'm Julija, an art historian with a Master's degree in History of Art and Photography from Birkbeck, University of London. I've lived in London since 2007 and am one of the official Tate Modern guides.

Since 2016, I've been leading independent art walks across London. My regular routes include Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National Gallery, the Wallace Collection, the V&A, as well as private galleries and auction houses in Mayfair and the East End. I also organise guided visits to many of London's leading temporary exhibitions.

My interests range from the Old Masters and Dutch Golden Age paintings to contemporary art and current artistic practices. Above all, I enjoy making art accessible, engaging and relevant, whether you're completely new to the subject or have been visiting museums for years.

I lead art walks in both English and Russian and hope to welcome many of you on a future walk.

Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) was one of the biggest art stars of the post-war era. With his stark black outlines, elongate...
10/06/2026

Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) was one of the biggest art stars of the post-war era. With his stark black outlines, elongated figures, bleak cityscapes and famous clown paintings, he became the face of a new French modernism. By the 1950s, his fame rivalled that of Picasso. His career was carefully promoted by his partner Pierre Bergé, who would later leave Buffet for the young Yves Saint Laurent.

At the height of his success, Buffet embodied a glamorous vision of French culture. Paris Match featured his Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Jean Cocteau stayed at his château near Aix-en-Provence, and his paintings attracted admirers including Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston. His works even appeared in Hollywood films such as Three Coins in the Fountain and How to Marry a Millionaire.

Yet changing tastes proved unforgiving. As abstraction and conceptual art gained prominence, Buffet's highly recognisable figurative style fell out of favour with critics and museums. By the end of his life, despite having produced more than 8,000 works, he had become a marginal figure in the art establishment. Suffering from Parkinson's disease, he took his own life in 1999 at the age of 71.

Today, however, Buffet is being rediscovered. Major exhibitions, new scholarship, and a growing interest in post-war figurative art are prompting a fresh look at an artist who was once one of the most famous painters in the world.

There’s a Lot of Money in Chairs began with an old armchair given to Tracey Emin by her grandmother. Her Nan used to say...
08/06/2026

There’s a Lot of Money in Chairs began with an old armchair given to Tracey Emin by her grandmother. Her Nan used to say, “There’s a lot of money in chairs,” referring to the old habit of hiding cash inside furniture. Emin transformed the worn chair into a tribute to their relationship, covering it with appliquéd names, family references, dates, and fragments of conversation.

The chair later became part of Emin’s American book tour for Explorations of the Soul. She read from the book while sitting in it and added new textile patches as she travelled, turning the object into a record of both family memory and personal journey. What began as a humble inheritance became an artwork, a performance prop, and ultimately a source of income — giving her grandmother’s phrase an unexpected new meaning.

Join me on Sunday, 14 June, for a guided walk through the Tracey Emin exhibition, where we'll explore works like this one and discuss how Emin transforms everyday objects into powerful stories about family, memory, love and survival. Tickets include exhibition entry and guided tour. I'd love to see you there.

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664) was, after Velázquez, one of the greatest painters of Spain’s Golden Age. Unlike Veláz...
05/06/2026

Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664) was, after Velázquez, one of the greatest painters of Spain’s Golden Age. Unlike Velázquez, who worked at the royal court in Madrid, Zurbarán painted primarily for churches and monasteries in southern Spain. His religious works reflected the values of seventeenth-century Spain, balancing tradition with artistic innovation and embodying the spirit of the Counter-Reformation.

By 1700, much of his work had faded from public view, remaining in ecclesiastical settings. The looting of churches and monasteries during the Peninsular War (1808–14), followed by the secularisation of church property in 1835, brought his paintings to wider attention, though often stripped of their original context and meaning.

Zurbarán is currently on show at the National Gallery, until 23 August 2026.

You can also book a guided art walk of the exhibition with NEJA’s Art Walks, where we will explore Zurbarán’s art, its historical context, and the enduring power of his images.

Welsh artist Louise Pickard (1885–1965) was one of the most distinctive painters working in Wales during the first half ...
03/06/2026

Welsh artist Louise Pickard (1885–1965) was one of the most distinctive painters working in Wales during the first half of the twentieth century. Known for her richly coloured interiors, still lifes and landscapes, Pickard developed a style that balanced decorative beauty with a strong sense of structure and atmosphere.

Born in Swansea, she studied at the local art school before continuing her training in Paris, where she absorbed the influence of modern European painting. Her work often reflects the quiet elegance of the interwar period: carefully arranged spaces, bold colour relationships and an attention to light that gives even ordinary scenes a sense of intimacy and calm.

To book our art walk of Tate Britain, or any other art galleries in London, please do get in touch.

Adriana Varejão is one of the most influential contemporary Brazilian artists of the past few decades, known for works t...
29/05/2026

Adriana Varejão is one of the most influential contemporary Brazilian artists of the past few decades, known for works that confront the lasting legacies of colonialism and violence. Her paintings and sculptural installations are instantly recognisable for their cracked and ruptured surfaces, which seem to split apart and reveal something visceral beneath.

Drawing on the visual traditions of Portuguese tilework, Baroque architecture and decorative wall painting, Varejão creates works that are both seductive and unsettling. In Monocromo redondo Guan, a cool circular surface gradually opens into a branching, vein-like network that spreads across the composition before fading at its edges — suggesting blood vessels, river systems or incomplete maps of the body and landscape.

Balancing beauty with unease, Varejão’s work explores how histories of power, trauma and cultural identity remain embedded beneath polished surfaces. Her work is held in major international collections including Tate, and she is currently representing Brazil at the Venice Biennale alongside Rosana Paulino.

Niko Pirosmani (1862–1918), was a Georgian painter who posthumously rose to prominence. Relatively poor for most of his ...
28/05/2026

Niko Pirosmani (1862–1918), was a Georgian painter who posthumously rose to prominence. Relatively poor for most of his life, he worked a variety of ordinary jobs. His rustic, everyday scenes are celebrated today for their depiction of the Georgia of Pirosmani’s lifetime, and he has become one of the country’s most beloved artistic figures.

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Bankside
London
SE19

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 11am - 6pm

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