Lorian Gwynn

New worlds, layer by layer Text by Vivian Mac Gillavy

While painting, Lorian enters into a dialogue with the painting. She reacts to whatever arises in the moment. She builds up her work layer by layer. She paints over it or removes parts with turpentine, creating spots and patterns. She does not start with a preconceived plan but works intuitively. Only in the final phase of the painting does she understand exactly what the painting is about. ‘Because,’ she says, ‘you have to not fully understand it yourself to keep it interesting. If you already know where you are going, there’s nothing left to discover. And where’s the fun in that? It is precisely the search that I find important. For me, there is the tension in that, the endless search for when something clicks, when it coincides. I get satisfaction out of it when that succeeds in a painting. It keeps me curious and surprises me.’ 

Lorian’s paintings refer to memories and events from her childhood. In particular, the transitional periods and shifts that took place in them. From child to adolescent, from adolescent to young adult. Her fascination with children their magical way of thinking is reflected in her work. ‘At a young age, my perspective on the world changed so suddenly. Now I am trying to make sense of things I did not understand back then. The moment such a change takes place, you can’t go back to your old way of thinking. You suddenly step into a new world. A different world, a new perspective’.

In her work, Lorian intertwines the dream world in which children can live and the real world that is often much less safe.
The contrast between the mostly dark colour palette and the theme of childhood is striking. ‘Heavy memories can dominate. I think that is recognizable to a lot of people’. This results in paintings that show the power of imagination and fantasy and where different worlds intertwine.

Other important themes in her work are her family history – some of which is in Indonesia -, the connection with nature and the peace she finds in nature. She explores these topics through universal questions such as: ‘where do I come from? Who am I? And what is home?’
Lorian uses personal themes and events in her work but translates them in such a way that it leaves plenty of room for the viewer’s own interpretation. ‘I don’t want to be too directive in my work. I think it’s important that you can make your own connection with the painting and form your own associations’. Lately the global unrest is increasingly finding a place in her work. She is exploring how she can use the medium of painting to process news images, topical conversations and new perspectives.