Liza Lou - Sculptor

[ChrissyM]

I read about her a few months ago and have been meaning to start a thread since... but better late than never

She creates these large scale sculptural installations of rooms and objects covered completely in beads...
it's hard to describe but her art pretty much explains itself...

she primarily works out of her South African art studio and is assisted by locals she hires to help with the arduous task of hand-gluing the beads...

here is a profile on her from deitch.com (not the most up to date but i will try to bring more info in

Liza Lou is an artist whose work combines visionary, conceptual, traditional and vernacular approaches to create a new kind of sculptural experience. She is best known for her ambitious sculptural installations like Kitchen and Backyard, which were each years in the making, and more recently for her powerful sculptures of ecstatic figures. Liza Lou also brings a painter's approach to sculpture. The luminous patterned surfaces of her sculptural environments are like walk-in paintings.

Liza Lou's live performance, Born Again was a highlight of Testimony, her 2002 exhibition at Deitch Projects. The intensity of religious experience and the revisualization of childhood memories made the works in the exhibition exceptionally powerful, paralleling the vivid characterizations in the performance.

Liza Lou's work embraces the American visionary tradition and also encompasses Pop Art and Neo-Expressionist figuration. Although it is part of the historic progression of American art, it extends the contemporary artistic vocabulary to connect with audiences outside current academic dialogue. Whenever her works are exhibited, crowds are immediately drawn to her work, astonished by her meticulous technique and the work's magnetism.

Liza Lou was awarded the MacArthur “genius” fellowship in 2002.

Her most recent solo exhibition was at White Cube, London in March of 2006.

 

[ChrissyM]

Self Portrait, No. 2 (The Heretic), 2004, cast polyester resin, steel, glass beads, 30h x 22w x 18d inches, Photograph © Douglas M. Parker Studio

deitch.com

 

[ChrissyM]

a couple of her big projects were KITCHEN and BACK YARD...
there is an extensive article and some images here of both projects

and here are some images from deitch.com of Kitchen

Kitchen, 1991-1994, Mixed media, paper mache, wire, glass beads and glue, 168 square feet

 

[ChrissyM]

Backyard, 1995-1999, mixed media with beads, 525 square feet

deitch.com

 

[ChrissyM]

a few more images from pamrubert.com

 

[ChrissyM]

those two projects look a bit kitschy and bright but she also does more subdued things...
like Security Fence 2005, Steel, razor wire with glass beads, 132 x 156 x 156 inches

deitch.com

 

[ChrissyM]

The Damned, 2004, resin, steel, glass beads, m: 86h x 42w x 31d inches, f: 89h x 27w x 37d inches

deitch.com
and
virginyyyy at flickr

 

[ChrissyM]

an image of Liza Lou in her Durban studio...
wmagazine.com

and here is a link to the article that was in W...
http://www.wmagazine.com/artdesign/2008/09/liza_lou

 

[ChrissyM]

Maximum Security Fence is a bigger more extensive version of the previous project I think..

images and info from flickr.com diamondboa's account...

"Maximum Security" is on display at the Lever House Lobby Gallery in New York City from September 24 through November 29, 2008.

Excerpt from the flyer written by the exhibit Curator, Richard D. Marshall:
Lou explores the theme of isolation and confinement with her most recent sculpture, "Maximum Security (2007-08)". The sculpture consists of two long corridors made of chain-link security fencing that is completely covered in reflective glass beads. The two corridors intersect in an X configuration, and there are no gates, no way in or out. The stark and brutal symbol of imprisonment is in stark contrast to the sparkling and seductive coating. The vibrant visual impact of the work distracts the viewer from the seriousness of the subject matter, and focuses awareness on the extremely labor intensive process involved in it's creation."

 

[gius]

it consoles me a little knowing the beads are glued on
because beading using string is so pain-staking and time consuming
sometimes you pass the string through a bead more than once for the final piece to hold itself together..at least from my experience

thanks for the thread chrissy!
i love the contrast seeing her work in bare silvers and then exploding in colour the next
i wonder if the Secession influenced her at all --that's what the colourful one reminds me of, this Viennese art group.. Lots of flat and patterned decor
like Gustav Klimt

(it also reminds me of Miu Miu spring 2008).

 

[ChrissyM]

it's definitely interesting to see the explosions of color and intricate designs and details in some of her work in comparison to the subdued colors and qualities of other pieces...

i'll try to post some more images at some point but she's got some other pieces/projects in the more muted tones as well..

it's interesting to see all the little beaded bits that are so painstakingly created...
from a sandwich with bite marks in it to a rippling table cloth or water spilling out of a faucet and over dishes...

i would love to see her work in person just because i feel like all those beads and the light coming off of them would play some crazy little tricks on my eyes...

 

[skot4mc]

great thread ChrissyM!! thanks for the images so far.
I was lucky enough to see her work at Lever House, and L&M Arts in December in New York.

wow. the sheer volume of beads, and the amount of hand work required is just phenomenal. the exhibition at L&M Arts were particularly beautiful, there were a few small ink drawings and hand printed lithographs, but the beading is really the signature. i visited the exhibition twice, it was brilliant.

you can see detailed photos on the L&M Arts website. plus there is a press release!
http://www.lmgallery.com/exhibitions/2008_9_liza-lou/

incredible!

 

[ChrissyM]

wow

some of those are really incredible

i'm so glad you got to see the works in person...
and i'm also envious because i would have loved to have seen them myself...

 

[gius]

it must have been great to be there.. i mean, everything you see it is *shiny* no? there are a lot of works with glass beads on the website

i love the "rope" sculpture
and the gold railing
and especially the "roll" of glass beads on cotton

 

[ofewne datwiste]

Liza Lou

Liza Lou was a design studio neighbor of mine in the late 90's. I knew her personally. The now famous kitchen was in her studio where I was able to see it up close and touch it. I did see, watch and discuss her process. This was in San Diego - it was an interesting time back then.