LISA LARSON LEE
ABSTRACTED JOURNEYS: MINING MEMORIES, SOUL, AND SURROUNDINGS.
Lisa Larson Lee is an intuitive abstract artist who creates colourful, bold, textural work to excite the senses.
Lisa is drawn to organic shapes, cracks in pavement and landscape, peeling paint, rust, soot, and sea. Combining variety of layers, textures, and marks, Lisa’s eclectic style reflects her interest in odd and broken patterns both in nature and manmade.
Without restriction in form or formal philosophy, Lisa is free to let her intuition guide her. When creating, she focuses on places (real and imagined), people, feelings, music, or words of prose or poetry to help bring her inner world to the canvas.
Both in Lisa’s non-representational pieces and more figurative work, you’ll find a rich history of layers—a palimpsest: history overwritten without being forgotten—that lead viewers on their own personal journey.
As an emerging artist, Lisa’s work continues to evolve. She loves to explore and experiment with new ideas and materials, and considers play an invaluable part of her process. Unhindered by expectation or destination, she delights in having that freedom shine through in her work.
Lisa finds inspiration in the works of a variety of artists, including contemporary women artists such as Louise Fletcher, Marion Evamy, Plum Neasmith, and Tanya Klimp, and established gents Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko, Brian Rutenberg, Peter Wileman, Dominic Besner, and Ibrahim Hussein.
ARTIST STATEMENT
LISA LARSON LEE (Canada, based in Singapore).
Predominantly a self-taught painter, Lisa started her artistic journey in secondary school intending to pursue a career in graphic arts. As often happens, Life intervened and a love of writing led her to a BA in Communications.
In her practice, Lisa creates intuitive, abstract art on canvas, paper and panel, works primarily in acrylics and mixed media, and incorporates various texture mediums, found objects, and metal leaf.
Lisa was raised in a variety of landscapes that continue to influence her work: on the wide Canadian prairies with the Rocky Mountains in view; on the rocky shores of the Pacific on Vancouver Island; and, in verdant, tropical Singapore, where she spent part of her childhood and most of her adulthood. Lisa has called Singapore home for more than 20 years.
Lisa’s work is in private collections in Canada, Dubai, Finland, Japan, Singapore, Spain, the UK, and the US.
You can view her works on Facebook at @Mangosteen & Maple Art Studio.
BIOGRAPHY
THE CALLING
ACRYLIC AND MIXED MEDIA ON DEEP-EDGED GALLERY STRETCHED CANVAS
61 CM X 61 CM
2023
THE CALLING is a dance between calm and chaos. Gentle abstract floral elements are disrupted by bold fluorescent red bursting through the surface of an otherwise peaceful water lilies-like scene.
SECRET JOURNEY
ACRYLIC AND MIXED MEDIA ON DEEP-EDGED GALLERY STRETCHED CANVAS
46 CM X 46 CM
2023
SECRET JOURNEY started to take shape during the pandemic, then it followed me home across the waves from London to Singapore. It waited patiently in my studio while I attended to other work, both of us keeping an eye on the other till it was time, finally, to complete its journey.
DON’T LOSE YOUR NERVE
ACRYLIC AND MIXED MEDIA ON DEEP-EDGED GALLERY STRETCHED CANVAS
61 CM X 91 CM
2023
DON’T LOSE YOUR NERVE emerged from an urgent and wild gesticulation of indigo and Payne's Gray, which was tempered with soft marks and pastels against bold, dark shapes (not black, but deepest indigo with a hint of violet).
"Don't Lose Your Nerve" tried often to steer itself to a comfortable place, but the muse had other ideas and pushed me to keep going, to keep refining and exploring. It was an exercise in trusting myself and the process. It’s one of those pieces, too, that reveals its deeper meaning the longer you look upon it.
MOTHER
ACRYLIC, GOUACHE, AND MIXED MEDIA ON 320GSM PAPER
28 CM X 43 CM (UNFRAMED)
2021
MOTHER. Mother Goddess, Mother Earth, Mother of Her Children. Her benevolent, downward glance (a half moon) and broad body offer a comforting, protective place to rest, and to steady and steel us for what might come.
“Mother” was an exploration in pushing a substrate to its limits. Multiple layers, sanding and scraping back, building up, and then digging in again. She bore every change with grace and birthed herself into existence through wilful determination.
EXHIBITIONS
2023
‘Voice of Art 2’ group show, ION Art Gallery, with BeOne Gallery Singapore.
‘Voice of Art 1’ group show, ION Art Gallery, with BeOne Gallery Singapore.
2019
Actually Affordable Artist Market, Camp Kilo, Singapore.
2018
‘Near and Far’ solo exhibition, Body n Sync, Singapore.
Charity Art Exhibition group show, Ramakrishna Mission (RKM), Singapore.
TEACHING
2023
‘Rothko-Inspired Creativity’ introduction to acrylics workshops, with Soul Art Gallery, Singapore.
CV
BA in Communications, PR specialisation (Canada).
Regional manager, project manager, and editor at a US-based IT and telecoms advisory and market intelligence organisation (Singapore, California).
PR consultant with a boutique regional agency, overseeing IT and cybersecurity clients (Singapore).
Corporate communications manager for an exclusive private school; and, for a Canada-based petrochem company (Canada).
EDUCATION
‘Find Your Joy’ and ‘Find Your Voice’ with UK-based artist Louise Fletcher. 2020, 2021, 2023.
Art2Life ‘Creative Visionary Program’ (CVP) with US-based artist Nicholas Wilton. 2020.
BA Communications, Mount Royal University, Canada. 2001.
AFFILIATIONS
Canvas Connections, Women’s Art Collective, Singapore.
Your Art Tribe.
Connected Artist Club.