About
Second Lives is a new exhibition platform celebrating artists who have developed their practice alongside other careers.
Read more about curators Paula Lent and Jane Neal below.
Paula Lent
Paula Lent is a London-based art consultant, curator and founder of Artmasters Design Solutions, a consultancy connecting private and corporate clients with artists, galleries, and collectors. Before her curatorial career, Paula was a Solicitor and Partner at leading London law firm Mishcon de Reya, having trained at UCL Law LLB. Paula fell in love with art from an early age, inspired by her family’s antique business in London’s silver vaults. Since leaving Law, Paula went on to receive an MA in Art History and Museum Cultures, and has developed her passion for art through collecting, writing and curating exhibitions including Syrian artist Sara Shamma’s ‘Q’, at the RCA; the UAL Photography Exhibition and Competition and via facilitating events and shows for commercial galleries and museums. Paula is known for her impeccable eye, honed through meticulous research, curiosity and enthusiasm for discovering and championing new artists.
Jane Neal
Jane Neal has worked internationally as a respected independent curator and critic for the past 20 years. She made her reputation as a leading expert on the contemporary art scene in Eastern Europe. She has been described by ARTINFO and the Financial Times as one of the most knowledgeable independent curators working today. Neal has curated critically acclaimed exhibitions across the globe and was the first to promote and work with a group of artists from her generation in Cluj, Romania. Several of these have now become leading figures in the art world, notably Adrian Ghenie, who is regarded as one of the most sought-after artists working today. Neal’s recent exhibitions include the critically acclaimed: Seeing Red (2024), co-curated with Fru Tholstrup for Phillips X in London, UK; New Perspectives in British Painting (2023), Telegraph, Olomouc, CZ ; and Looking Anew and Beyond: Romanian Art from the Arthur Taubman Trust at The Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia, USA, (2023). Neal also co-authored the best-selling book Art Cities of the Future: 21 Century Avant Gardes for Phaidon. She was educated at Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute, London.