Opening of Exhibition: 30th April 2022
Exhibition running until 30th June 2022
Pepney Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the most recent Solo Exhibition by Lanna Ariel entitled PORTABLE SPELLS opening on 30th April 2022 at 8pm GMT on the gallery's virtual online platform the main website, Facebook Live and Instagram simultaneously. Facebook Live R.S.V.P. link to view the exhibition here: https://fb.me/e/1rHl1HhoW
Catalogue for PORTABLE SPELLS can be viewed here: https://view.publitas.com/p222-3292/lanna-ariel-catalogue/
Portable Spells will welcome you to dive and dwell among the unknown at the brink of the New Moon, inviting the visitors to let go of things that are no longer useful and open themselves to the possibilities of another moon cycle, visualising positive transformations and growth.
This exhibition presents the work by Galway-based artist Lanna Ariel, in which she merges nature, mysticism and symbols in 20 small-sized paintings mainly on wooden panels and 15 mini-Illustrations made on watercolour paper. Out of the artist’s oeuvre, intentionally selected small and medium works for this show, explores the practicality of our physical world where we can carry things around, making them portable. The intention is for the viewer to carry their own bag of emotions out of this dark and mysterious experience.
Portable Spells is an invitation for reflection on how we can live intentionally and with purpose in our day-to-day lives. ‘Spells’ in witchcraft are made with the power of being able to live in the present moment but making efforts to see positive changes in the future, a theme well explored by Lanna’s body of work and research for the past years. Prepare your bag and come with us in this enchanted experience.
"My work for the past 8 years has varied in themes from autism to women in vulnerable situations, to hidden aspects we overlook in constructivism to finding poetry within ourselves, which have a strong relationship to our contemporary culture today. My current work brings all the experience acquired from social political themes throughout the years revealing to the viewer a possibility of change in their scenario and on the way of perceiving life. As a woman from the suburbs of Brazil, I believe that because I have been living in Ireland for the past years, I have changed my reality so many times in so many ways. I want my art to speak about the possibility of transformations for the public which will have their own interpretation at the end according to their own background and way of perceiving the world.
My paintings usually consist of figurative elements, mixed with fluid abstract shapes and symbols. Nature is no doubt my primary source of inspiration, while exploring the symbology behind natural elements and animals, connecting me to my intuition and spirituality, working as strong allies on my craft. I am also passionate about human anatomy, therefore it is a big part of my artistic journey to explore its forms. My work investigates these elements focusing on its symbological meanings. Linking eyes to clairvoyance, mushrooms to introspection, moths to transformation and so on as their meaning may vary in each painting.
The composition of my paintings consist of an intuitive approach until the painting tells me that it is enough, the images I use I either take myself or I find it online but the truth is they only serve as a guide for I like changing forms and colours to work as freely as possible. In my new series that I am still working on called “Still Life Flowing Death” I use a reference free approach to use the painting techniques I have learned throughout the years while letting the painting tell me what is coming next, I feel like I am just a tool to put into the physical world something that already exists in my head. Beside this series I am very likely to use reference photos especially if it is to paint human forms or complex animals.
Nonetheless Leonora Carrington is one of my favourite artists of all time. The symbolism and surrealism connected to her work is really inspiring, as well as the history of her life with so many changes in her scenario and life perspectives. At the present moment, the creation of my paintings is highly associated with spiritual awakening, intuition, acceptance and growth as in my paintings “Meditation” and “The hanged man”.
Art has this beautiful power of opening space for dialogue, possibilities of changing one’s way of seeing the world, has survived thousands of years modifying its forms and the way it affects people. I am very grateful for being part of the contemporary art community telling visual tales and showing that even though this is a hard moment to be alive we can still see magic everywhere".
Lanna Ariel was born in Brazil, she received her Visual Arts degree in 2018 from the University of Brasilia – UNB. Lanna worked at Caixa Cultural Brasilia for many years as a Gallerist Manager Support and Curator of exhibitions such as “Artistas no Acervo da Caixa” an exhibition that highlighted Women Artists from 1920 until 2006 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CQElxNP0_Y) . Later on, she moved to Ireland and is currently living in Galway. Where she could start dedicating to her own art. Such a transition had a big impact on her work. Lanna explores surrealism, nature, symbolism, fairy tales and witchcraft in her paintings, where she encourages the viewer to see the world with a spark of magic. Her inspirations in art are artists such as Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Artemisia Gentileschi and Frida Kahlo but also contemporary artists like Isabelle Prado, Ruth Speer, Natalie Rukavishnikova, Caro Arevalo, Nom Kinnear King and Eleanor Johnson.
Further information:
Lanna Ariel's Website: www.lannaariel.com
Lanna Ariel's Instagram: www.instagram.com/witchofpaintings
Facebook Live R.S.V.P. link to view the exhibition here: https://fb.me/e/1rHl1HhoW
Catalogue for PORTABLE SPELLS can be viewed here: https://view.publitas.com/p222-3292/lanna-ariel-catalogue/
Portable Spells
Solo Exhibition by
Lanna Ariel
Invite painting image title; "Me and My Friends" by Lanna Ariel
