<div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">When the English artist Somaya Critchlow was at art school around a decade ago, she once showed a tutor a painting she had made of her cousins sitting on a sofa. When the teacher likened it to the glam-realist style of David Hockney, Critchlow was taken aback.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“This sucks,” she recalled thinking. “That’s not what I want to paint.”</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Critchlow was developing a deep affinity for the naked form at the time. But that felt at odds with everything she was learning at art school about conceptual art, and everything her feminist mother had taught her about female objectification.</p><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">For Critchlow, 31, the shift that happened when modernism took over as the dominant form of artistic expression never resonated. She likes her paintings old — Renaissance era, to be specific. Even Matisse’s poetic “Blue Nudes” series, for example, is not her cup of tea. (“No disrespect to Matisse,” she said.)</p></div>

<div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">This is perhaps why Dulwich Picture Gallery, a London museum known for its collection of over 600 old master paintings, is the perfect place for Critchlow’s debut at a major British institution. Her exhibition, “<a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/displays/2025/february/somaya-critchlow-the-chamber/" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Chamber,</a>” running through July 20, is part of the museum’s “Unlocking Painting” program, which puts contemporary painters in dialogue with the works it owns.</p></div>

<div data-testid="imageblock-wrapper"><figure class="img-sz-large css-hxpw2c e1g7ppur0" aria-label="media" role="group"><div class="css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-figure"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Image</span><div class="css-nwd8t8" data-testid="lazy-image"></div></div><figcaption data-testid="photoviewer-children-caption" class="css-1g9ic6e ewdxa0s0"><span class="css-jevhma e13ogyst0">Critchlow’s “Study for Two Figures” (2024), right, displayed alongside Peter Paul Rubens’s “Venus Mourning Adonis.”</span><span class="css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0">Credit...</span><span><span aria-hidden="false">Ayesha Kazim for The New York Times</span></span></span></figcaption></figure></div>

<div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">Lucy West, a Dulwich Picture Gallery curator who worked on Critchlow’s show, said, “Somaya had so many factors that made her the perfect fit. She grew up close to Dulwich Picture Gallery, so she was a regular visitor as a child. Also, she is a painter who has been endlessly fascinated by the old masters.”</p><div class="css-1336jj"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message" class="css-6yo1no"><p class="css-3kpklk">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" tabindex="-1"><hr><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and&nbsp;<a href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F12%2Farts%2Fdesign%2Fsomaya-critchlow-dulwich-picture-gallery-the-chamber.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">log into</a>&nbsp;your Times account, or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F12%2Farts%2Fdesign%2Fsomaya-critchlow-dulwich-picture-gallery-the-chamber.html">subscribe</a>&nbsp;for all of The Times.</p><hr></div><div class="css-1g71tqy"><div data-testid="optimistic-truncator-message" class="css-6yo1no"><p class="css-3kpklk">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.</p><p class="css-3kpklk">Already a subscriber?&nbsp;<a data-testid="log-in-link" class="css-z5ryv4" href="https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F12%2Farts%2Fdesign%2Fsomaya-critchlow-dulwich-picture-gallery-the-chamber.html&amp;asset=opttrunc">Log in</a>.</p><p class="css-3kpklk">Want all of The Times?&nbsp;<a data-testid="subscribe-link" class="css-z5ryv4" href="https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F12%2Farts%2Fdesign%2Fsomaya-critchlow-dulwich-picture-gallery-the-chamber.html">Subscribe</a>.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div>

Somaya Critchlow, 31, is showing her provocative paintings alongside a storied collection that includes work by Rubens, van Dyck and Velázquez.{ai:summary}<p>Somaya Critchlow, a 31-year-old artist, has a strong affinity for Renaissance art, diverging from the contemporary styles taught in art school. Her exhibition "The Chamber" at Dulwich Picture Gallery showcases her work alongside old master paintings, reflecting her passion for traditional forms.</p><p>Critchlow's background and fascination with classic art make her a fitting choice for the gallery's program, which aims to connect contemporary artists with historical works. The exhibition runs through July 20. #culture</p>