Hi, I’m Neil Eckersley OLY. An Olympic Bronze Medallist turned contemporary Abstract Artist.

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

As a judoka, that search took me to two Olympic Games. It taught me about discipline, resilience and the quiet determination needed to keep moving forward, even when the outcome is uncertain. Today, that same mindset shapes my life as an artist.

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. Whether I’m responding to the energy of a city, the stillness of a garden, or the complexity of human experience, each piece begins with curiosity and develops through layers of mark-making, instinct and reflection.

My work is intentionally open. I want the viewer to bring their own memories and experiences to the painting, allowing it to become something personal rather than something explained. I believe the most powerful artworks don’t tell us what to think they invite us to pause, ask questions and find our own meaning.

The values I learned through sport commitment, respect, courage and perseverance continue to guide my creative practice. Although I’ve exchanged the Judo mat for the studio, the process remains remarkably similar. Every painting demands patience, risk and the willingness to embrace uncertainty.

For me, art is a conversation. It is a way of making sense of the world and connecting with others through shared experiences. If my work encourages someone to stop for a moment, look a little closer or see something differently, then it has achieved what I hoped it would.

I don’t see my journey as moving from sport to art. They are chapters of the same story both driven by a desire to discover, to learn and to create something that resonates long after the moment has passed.

“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.