COLLABORATION
LUCY ANDERSON x BRIE LEON
For our upcoming collection The Artists Way, Brie Leon introduces a pareo created in collaboration with Brisbane-based artist Lucy Anderson, bringing her painting practice into dialogue with textile and wearable design.
A graduate of Queensland College of Art, Lucy works predominantly with oil paint on found pieces of pine. Her practice brings together painting and the material character of its surface, with the support forming an integral part of how each work is experienced. Since graduating in 2012, she has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Australia, with work held in public and private collections.
Our collaboration introduces a new setting for her artwork. Translated onto a sarong, the composition moves from a fixed surface to a fabric that folds, drapes and responds to the body. Viewed in full, the piece presents the artwork as a complete image; worn, it reveals smaller passages of colour and detail through the arrangement of the cloth.
The sarong’s understated construction places the artwork at the centre of the design. Its versatility allows the composition to take on different proportions and arrangements, creating a relationship between the original work and the individual wearing it.
Within The Artists Way, the collaboration offers an opportunity to consider how art can become part of daily life: encountered through fabric, movement and the familiar act of getting dressed.
"There are hidden details that are seen on certain angles but not all and that is what makes it a unique experience to own artwork on a garment."
Lucy Anderson
IN CONVERSATION WITH LUCY ANDERSON
To accompany the release, we invited Lucy to discuss the development of her practice, the ideas behind the featured artwork and the experience of translating her work into a wearable piece.
Could you introduce your practice and the subjects or ideas that occupy your work?
My practice is very spontaneous and intrinsic. I don’t often plan out any of my pieces and even if I do go into the studio with an idea of what I want to paint, it actually never turns out the way I envisioned. The subjects I paint often emerge unintentionally and abstracted, they are not fully thought out and instead, sort of evolve through being playful or haphazard. At the moment, I’m really hung up on the idea of the fool. It’s not that I want to depict this in my paintings more than it’s a feeling I need to have to be able to work in a way that freeing. Through this I often end up painting a lot of abstracted figures and objects.
How has your approach to painting developed over time? Are there particular experiences that have shaped the way you work today?
I definitely always aim to become more confident in the way I work. As opposed to developing the work itself, to me it’s more about refining the approach and my studio practice. As my practice grows, I see all my previous work as part of building my visual language. In this way I am becoming ok with making bad work and that’s important. A long time ago now, I did a commission that was very prescribed and for me it kind of just highlighted my way of working. I became more attuned how I work naturally. Not that it was a horrible experience, it just made me more defiant, which was fun.
What draws you to the materials you use, and how does the surface influence the finished painting?
I think what you work with informs or influences what the outcome of that piece is massively. I think about that so often. And in a way all I am kind of doing is just responding to materials. That is why I love to source found timber to paint on. It already has a life and surface that you haven’t had control over and that changes the way you paint. It’s not blank and it brings its own energy to the piece. For that same reason I often use old brushes that haven’t been washed out or have hardened because you have so much less control which I really like. I am always on the lookout for a surface I can paint on or respond to no matter what it is. It’s how my small sculptural pieces came about. I found a heavy piece of timber that stood up like a small statue, and I just had such an urge to paint on it and play around with adorning it with a top.
Could you tell us about the artwork featured in this collaboration: its origins, subject and the ideas behind it?
When I am asked to work with a brand, I will explore their world and imagery. Not to copy an image but to have an immediate and intrinsic visual response. The two works I ended up painting are quite textural and raw, juxtaposing the sleek, refined forms of Brie Leon as a brand.The subjects are secondary for me, the naive mark making, the repetition and looseness of the pieces create the conversation between the artwork and the brand. I tried to have restraint in my pieces, hoping to simplify the forms on the canvas and accentuate the gestures and imperfections.
Fabric introduces movement, folds and changing perspectives. How do you feel these qualities affect the way the artwork is experienced?
I think this is a fun way to interact with art pieces as opposed to seeing them on a wall. I especially like the idea of the distorted face and figures on one of the pieces moving with someone. The way a piece of fabric that you’re wearing changes the artwork is so interesting they instantly become more abstract because you’re not seeing the whole thing at once. There are hidden details that are seen on certain angles but not all and that is what makes it a unique experience to own artwork on a garment.
Our collection is titled 'The Artists Way'. What has finding your own direction as an artist involved, and what continues to guide you?
Just becoming more disciplined in my work and studio practice. I started by painting small pieces on my bedroom floor and then built a studio at my home since then I have started to treat my studio practice as work. A lot of creativity comes from a structured practice and honoring the process and growth that comes from that. I am always guided and driven by my urge to create and I have no idea where that comes from. Since becoming an artist, I have had two children which means I can’t work in the studio on a whim or whenever I feel inspired. I have to have a more structured approach with is funny because the work that I produce is not that in any way.
What are you currently exploring in your studio, and how might this inform the next stage of your work?
