Light Corner, Neltje Green, 2023, Acrylic on wood panel.
Meet Neltje Green
An Artist to Watch
Neltje Green was a breakout artist at TOAF this past summer. Her emotional, dreamy interiors, meticulously painted, captured the imagination of visitors, media, and curators alike, drawing us into her nostalgic spaces.
She received the inaugural United Contemporary Award, which offers a solo exhibition, mentorship, and professional guidance on working with commercial galleries and building a professional practice. Neltje’s very first solo exhibition, Light Left On, will be in the project space at United Contemporary from February 5 to March 14, 2026. From what we’ve seen, the new work is stunning, and the exhibition promises to be something special.
We first crossed paths with Neltje through last year’s expansion of the Art Encounters program, which welcomed New Generation artists (under 30) by increasing access and removing barriers to participation. She was a recipient of both the Art Encounters support and a Travel Bursary.
In recent years, we’ve seen a surge of new energy around the Fair and new waves of support for our artists. Creative partnerships, like our work with United Contemporary, extend our collective care and community beyond the three summer days of the Fair, creating meaningful connections and opportunities for artists to grow. For an emerging artist, a solo gallery exhibition is a big milestone, and we’re truly happy to be part of that journey. We simply love that! 💛
We’re also hosting a special Collectors Collective event at United Contemporary. If you’d like to join, be sure you’re subscribed to the Collectors Collective newsletter to learn more.
Enjoy getting to know Neltje’s work, and stay tuned for more stories and news.
Meet Neltje
“My practice explores the emotional resonance of architectural environments and the ways we experience and remember space. Working primarily with acrylic on panel, I paint real places: Montréal apartments, neighbourhood streets, and urban landmarks, filtered through memory, shifting perspective, and imagined colour palettes. This process transforms familiar locations into spaces that feel both intimate and shared, allowing them to function as visual archives of lived experience.
I am interested in how built environments hold meaning, how they evolve over time, and how our perception of them is shaped by movement, light, and emotional attachment. My design background informs my approach to composition and structure, while my use of light and atmosphere aims to immerse viewers in a moment that hovers between documentation and recollection.”
— Neltje Green
Hear from judge
Emily Henderson & United Contemporary Team
“The themes that resonated to us in Neltje Green’s work were those of nostalgia and memory, portrayed through her paintings of interiors that can be perceived as portraits of people through the spaces they inhabited. In her compositions, Neltje depicts perspectives of architecture that mimic the periphery of the eye, and in turn, memory.”
— Emily Henderson, Independent Curator and Creative Advisor, and United Contemporary Team
On receiving the United Contemporary Award
“My first experience at TOAF was eye-opening. The Art Encounters program gave me the support and platform to create and present new work, which ultimately led to receiving the United Contemporary Award. This recognition marks an exciting milestone in my career, as it will allow me to present my first solo exhibition in a gallery setting and motivates me to continue pushing my practice forward.”
— Neltje Green
Rapid Fire with Neltje
What is your go-to studio sounds track?
Anything by Air, I find their music to be the perfect sounds for creating that balance between energy and ease while I work. I’ve also really been enjoying Blood Orange lately, especially his newly released album Essex Honey.
What do you do to move past a creative block?
I go for a long walk—just walking, without any set destination.
Morning or midnight creator?
I’ve been trying so desperately lately to set myself a healthier schedule and start painting first thing in the morning, but I’m a night owl at heart and always find myself working late into the night.
What has been the most unexpected source of inspiration for you?
Lately, it’s been other people’s memories, oddly enough. For many of the commissions I’ve been working on, clients send me photo references, and there’s something so special about hearing the memory behind the photo from their first-hand perspective. I find it incredibly inspiring to hear how spaces impact different people, and to see the places that hold deep meaning for them.
Neltje’s exhibition at United Contemporary
Light Left On, Neltje Green’s solo exhibition in United Contemporary‘s project space, is open to the public from February 5 to March 14, 2026. A public reception will take place on Saturday, February 7, from 3–5 PM, be sure to stop by!
United Contemporary on Neltje’s exhibition
“Green’s exhibition brings together a series of paintings that treat spaces as a form of portraiture. Rooms, thresholds, streets, and interiors quietly absorb the traces of lived experience – a chair pulled slightly away from the table, a light left on, a window reflecting what once passed through it. These details stand in for presence, allowing absence to speak.”
— United Contemporary
Demystifying the Art World Session
Join us for a session covering practical tips on writing proposals for installations, responding to commissions, and presenting the feasibility of your project in clear terms for selection panels. Hear from seasoned public art curator Rui Pimenta and artist duo Julia Jamrozik & Coryn Kempster, led by Josh Heuman, Head of Artistic Engagement at Koffler Arts.
Spots are limited, reserve your place now. And, take a look at the rest of our upcoming Demystifying the art World Sessions.
