DESTIG INTERVIEW WITH LILLIAN TURNER-GRACIE, NUMBER 9 ON OUR LIST OF 25 RECOMMENDED ARTISTS FOR 2019.
Tell us about your work.
I don’t intellectualize my paintings. It’s more of an intuitive process, but I do aim for the feeling of an alternate world or existence. Sometimes when a painting is finished I wonder how I did it, or where it came from. The approach to making this series, called Mountains and Mazes, has been different. In spite of being complex, I have no idea what they will look like even though they may look planned in detail. The subject seems to dictate how they should be done. I might decide to use certain colors, but it mysteriously wants to go its own way. These are some of the most complex I have done in a different way than previously. This is partly because I begin at the bottom now, as the pieces are weaving together and growing upward with a destination unbeknownst to me.
"This is a private world for wandering, an alternate world, a sometimes enigmatic experience for myself and the viewer."
What makes your approach unique?
So far, I haven’t wanted to include people. This is a private world for wandering, an alternate world, a sometimes enigmatic experience for myself and the viewer. The mazes also seem to be about dilemmas, waiting patiently for a clue or an answer to emerge with time.
"Ideas come from endless sources; dreams and nightmares, observation and fantasy, science and nature or… the unexpected."
Tell us about yourself and background.
I was born in the northeastern US and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1968 with a degree in Ceramics.
I have worked with clay and painted for many years exploring many ideas from realism to abstraction and now to a kind of surrealism. Living in West Palm Beach, Florida for many years provided much exposure to European influences in art and interior design as well as traveling in Italy. My former husband was a restorer of fine paintings, so there was the opportunity and time to study the work of many artists in detail. We also had a business specializing in painted finishes, unusual decorative objects and antiques. This included restoration of 18th and 19th century Italian painted furniture and custom work for designers. The knowledge gained in one media creates ideas for working in other materials. Sometimes the media alone is reason enough to create. Ideas come from endless sources; dreams and nightmares, observation and fantasy, science and nature or… the unexpected.
"I sensed the magic when I first came here to New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment in 1986. It almost buzzes with a strange energy."
Tell us about where you are based.
I sensed the magic when I first came here to New Mexico, The Land of Enchantment” in 1986 It almost buzzes with a strange energy. Visiting the Greek island of Santorini was also important, feeling a similar energy overlooking the harbor at the edges of the ancient volcanic caldera. The sunsets reflected rainbow colors on all of the white buildings along the cliffs. Steps and stairways going up and down were everywhere. It all seemed symbolic of something I couldn’t explain.
"Sometimes when a painting is finished I wonder how I did it, or where it came from."
Tell us the back-story of some of your projects.
Returning to live in New Mexico in 1998, I first thought I shouldn’t paint the mountains here because they weren’t the Adirondacks of New York State or the Green Mountains of Vermont that I grew up with. They were so different with layers
of colors and exotic formations. I didn’t connect with a way to relate to them yet. The hugeness of the space made it feel like I was visiting another planet. After a while I began to see them as mazelike, staggered and layered one in front of the other while moving back into vast landscapes. This also became the basis for ceramic sculpture of mountains and boulders, as well as paintings.
Share with us your upcoming projects.
My next project will be to larger work so it seems as if you could enter the scenes. Most of the maze paintings have pathways which can be followed. A way out can be seen or there might be a dilemma about which direction to take.
Website: lillianturnergracie.artspan.com
| PDF of the Interview in DESTIG Magazine |