Lola Lefrancois

Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA

Artist statement

Exploring the relationship between the history of Western landscape painting and the decorative arts, my works subvert these romanticized depictions of nature to show a much darker image surrounding the use and abuse of nature and animals. My work is deeply connected to my childhood growing up in Auroville, India. Auroville is an experimental township founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa ("the Mother"). Living there for eight years, my education was shaped by utopian notions of an ideal society. Growing up with this discourse, I became fascinated with the limit between utopia and dystopia and how opposing ideas coexist. Painting directly onto fabric, each piece is a dialogue between texture, pattern, and paint. I explore the history of landscape painting and how it has been deeply connected to the decorative arts through backdrops, theater, and textiles. Revealing how beautifying can participate in the objectification of The Living. I’m interested in challenging the history of Western landscape painting and its traditional boundaries. Installing my pieces in space, I directly extend them by painting onto the walls so the surrounding environment becomes part of the work. Everything is brought together and connected to create a composed set in which the viewer enters.