Hi, I’m Neil Eckersley OLY.Olympian Abstract Artist.Olympic Medalist

Hi, I’m Neil Eckersley OLY, a contemporary abstract artist and two-time Olympian.

My work explores movement, memory, identity and place.

I’ve spent much of my life searching not simply for success, but for meaning.

That search has taken me from the Olympic judo mat to the artist’s studio. They may appear to be very different worlds, but for me they are chapters of the same story.

I don’t paint simply to represent what I see.

I paint to explore what I feel, what I remember and what often goes unnoticed.

Through layers of mark-making, instinct and reflection, I create work that invites the viewer to pause, look closer and find their own meaning.

NEIL ECKERSLEY OLY

OLYMPIAN ARTIST

MOVEMENT. MEMORY. IDENTITY. PLACE.

 
 
 
“I love to travel, and wherever I go I’m always looking for subjects and experiences to inspire my abstract work. It’s an exciting creative journey that demands a different kind of discipline to elite sport, but one I find equally rewarding. I’m constantly exploring ideas, materials and new ways of telling stories through paint.”
— Neil Eckersley OLY
 
 

EXHIBITIONS, INTERVIEWS, PUBLICATIONS.

  • AOTO Schools Project New York, Lake Placid 2026

  • Speak Out TUCK Lancaster October 2025

  • PARIS OLYMPIC Games, Exhibition IJF Gala Hôtel Potocki, 2024

  • BBC Radio Lancashire Paris Olympics 2024

  • STIR WORLD Online Magazine, 2024

  • H.O.P.E. The Priory Church, Lancaster Exhibition, 2024

  • ‘ I know You’re In There”. Defining Dementia. Exhibition , 2023

  • The World Art News, IJF, Lancaster Guardian, BBC online news, Jo’s Art History Podcast, 2023

  • “It’s a laughing matter”. The old red bus station. Exhibition, Leeds 2022

  • Light up Lancaster festival, Exhibition Lancaster 2022

  • INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, Webinar Lausanne Switzerland 2022.

  • Olympian Artists-in-Residence at Olympic Agora Beijing Exhibition 2022

  • Collaboration with Roger A Joys Michelin Star Sushi Chef 2021. Provided Art work for his new concept Restaurant Sabi- Enzo Stavanger Norway 

  • International Judo Federation, Tokyo. Exhibition 2019

  • International Judo Federation, Baku. Exhibition ,2018

  • International Judo Federation, Budapest Exhibition,2017

  • Hong Kong Exhibition 2016

  • Paris, Exhibition, 2107

  • Galleri Musengaten, Stavanger, Norway Exhibition 2017

  • L.A Pedersen, Bryne,Norway, 2016

  • Kristianhuset, Kleppe, Norway 2016

  • The Storey Gallery, Lancaster. UK 2015

  • Artwork on loan and presently being exhibited in Optima Performance Clinic, London. Sol Restaurant, Stavanger, Sumo Restaurant, Stavanger, Egget Restaurant, Stavanger and Sabi Enso Restaurant (new concept by Roger Asakil Joya , Michelin Star Sushi Chef), Stavanger, Norway.

  • Neil is member of Art of the Olympians (AOTO). 

  • Neil has contributed and collaborated to ‘Voicing Silence’ 2020. This was funded by Manchester Museum. 

  • Profile articles in a variety of publications in ‘Time Out’, TVB, Commercial Daily, Hong Kong, Judo Quarterly and a variety of website publications.