Xpainting with Lala Drona

Caracas: A Triptych on War and Duality through Painting

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 09:00:22 GMT

On Duality, Paint, and the Day My Two Countries Went into Conflict

Two Countries, One Body

To the Latinos, I was always La Gringa . To the Americans, always the Latina . I grew up in Colorado, born of a father from New York and a mother from Caracas, and I have spent my life in the hyphen between those two things, pushed to one side or the other, never fully claimed by either. My body knew that split before I had language for it: I was born with unilateral breast agenesis, one side developing and one side not, the duality written into my flesh from the beginning. Two sides, never conforming to a single mold, always at odds, always negotiating.

On January 3rd, 2026, the country that made one half of me invaded the country that made the other.

I have been to Caracas twice, once as a teenager and once as a young adult, and each time I felt the pull of something that was mine but resisted easy naming. It is a city of extraordinary energy, chaotic and alive, perched in a valley ringed by mountains so green they look invented. The naturaleza of the country, its forests, its coastline, its particular quality of light, is some of the most overwhelming I have encountered anywhere. And then I couldn't go back. For fifteen years, the political conditions and the accelerating deterioration of daily life have made return impossible. Venezuela is a country I carry inside me that I can no longer reach.

The deterioration didn't begin with one event. For over twenty-five years Venezuela has been caught in a slow unraveling: economic collapse, hyperinflation, mass exodus, political prisoners, shortages of food and medicine. More than six million people have fled. My family stayed. When I think about the weight of that erosion, the invasion of January 3rd lands not as a singular rupture but as one more intensification of a crisis with no clear horizon. It brings a complicated kind of hope and it brings new fear. The name of this intervention was Operation Absolute Resolve. For the people it was enacted upon, nothing has resolved. As of this day, the operation has seemingly concluded; the situation has not.

The triptych comes from that suspended place. Not from a political position. From a bodily one. I am made of both countries, they are in conflict, watching from an art studio in France, my family in a city I have not been able to reach for fifteen years.. The hyphen I have always lived in just got wider.

I. 02:00h — Blackout

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas, 130x80cm

The operation began around 2 a.m. local time. The first thing it did was take the light. Infrastructure strikes, substations hit, communications towers targeted, the city's nervous system dismantled before anything else. Parts of Caracas went dark. As the helicopters came in low over the Caribbean, flying at a hundred feet above the water, the city that was their destination could not see them coming.

The first canvas is all of that: a sky pressing down, turbulent horizontal forms in black scored deep into red, the atmosphere itself becoming threat. Something massive gathers in the upper register, not yet arrived but crossing toward, looming from above. Below it, a coiling metallic form, quiet and tight, like a signal that has just gone dead. The red and the black do not negotiate. One presses into the other, neither yielding, each insisting on its own weight.

The city has gone dark. The painting goes dark with it.

II. 02:30h — Urban Combat

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas, 130x80cm

Then the force hit ground. There was combat. People were killed, the numbers disputed, the fog of that hour still not fully cleared.

Two dense swirling forms occupy the upper register of the second canvas, enveloped by the red atmosphere, turning against or into each other — two bodies that cannot separate and cannot merge. I know something about that. Across the center, horizontal grey forms tear through the composition, grey like metallic arms, like instruments of war, each one dense and purposeful and blunt. Paul Virilio wrote about the violence of speed, about how modern war operates not through occupation but through the sudden collapse of distance, the erasure of the gap between here and there. The second canvas is that moment. The grey carries the weight of machinery. The red does not yield. They coexist without resolution, pressing into each other across the surface, two forces with no common language, only contact.

III. 03:30h — Extraction

Oil and acrylic paint on canvas, 130x80cm

In the hours before dawn, the operation's primary target was seized and flown out of the country. By the time most of the world woke up it was already done. Something fixed in place for decades, suddenly removed. The official word for it was extraction .

The third canvas arrived with that knowledge already inside it. The red deepens here, more burgundy, more interior, the color of something turning inward. A form emerges from the center, ambiguous and urgent, surrounded by the familiar turbulent strata but with a vertical pull running through the composition now, a tug upward and away. The metallic gray forms return from the first canvas, longer this time, more knotted, more insistent. Extraction as the organizing force: what is being removed, what the removal costs, what is left in the space it occupied. The painting does not answer. It holds the shape of the question.

As does the morning after. As does every morning since.

On the Body of a City

My practice usually works close to the individual body. The visceral interior, the terrain of surgery, the abject feminine . Caracas is a departure in scale: a city, a country, something collective and political. But the underlying logic is the same, because violence done to a city lands in the body the way all violence does. For me it arrived as something felt in my extended body, in my raíces , in the living and ancestral extensions of myself that are my family and my mother and the people I love who are still there. I sit at a distance and feel it as something proximate. That has always been the condition: close to something I cannot fully hold, belonging to something that will not fully claim me.

My body knew this before any of it had a name. The unilateral breast agenesis I was born with, one side and then the other, was the first form this duality took. What the invasion did was take that private negotiation and place it on the world's stage. The two halves of me are now, literally and geopolitically, at war. These are not separate registers of the same feeling. They are the same thing, at different scales, all the way down.

Deleuze and Guattari wrote about deterritorialization, the process by which a body or a people is stripped of its grounding, uprooted from the earth that gives it coherence. Venezuela has been living through that process for decades. The invasion is not the beginning of that unraveling. It is a new chapter in a story already more than twenty-five years old. And I have been living my own version of that logic my entire life: two territories, two sides, a ground that keeps shifting beneath the question of where you belong.

Picasso's Guernica & Drona's Caracas

Picasso called his painting Guernica . Not The Bombing or The War in Spain , just the name of the town, made to hold everything. I followed that instinct with Caracas, knowing the comparison it would invite.

The differences matter as much as the echo. Guernica was built through obsessive control, heaps of preparatory sketches, forms mastered and refined toward a monumental image. An external witness constructing the right shape for horror. Caracas came from somewhere else entirely — not constructed but carried. It is in my muscles, my ancestry, my DNA. The two countries that made this conflict made me first. I did not need to sketch my way toward the truth of it. I only needed to open to what the body already knew.

The canvases go down before they go up, the body moving above the surface without frontal confrontation, gesture preceding intention. What comes through in that state is not planned: it is what the body already carries. The somatic memory of painting, the muscle memory that does not need to think in order to know. But more than technique: the ancestral memory that lives in the body as something physical and present, the raíces that are not metaphor but matter. When I lay open to the canvas I am opening to what has already been given to me by the people I come from, trusting both sides of what I carry to move through the work together. The asymmetry is not a problem to solve. It is the material.

A body that has always been two things built this. Not a monument. A record.

Picasso sketched until he got it right. I lay the canvas on the floor, open to what is already in me, and leave the marks it makes.

The Minute Mark

The triptych is structured by time because time was the only honest structure available. Not geography, not judgment. The minute-mark: 02:00h, when the lights went out. 02:30h, when the force hit ground. 03:30h, when something was taken and the sky over Caracas was already beginning to lighten.

I am made of two countries that are now in open conflict with each other. That conflict is not new to my body. Caracas is what it felt like when it became visible to the world.

If you liked this article and want to read more deep dives into the work, check out the blog , or check out this blog article exploring Madame Sidewalk: Contemporary Painting at the Collision of Body and City .

What Preparing for the RCA MA Painting Degree Show Is Really Like

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 19:53:41 GMT

Installation week, curation, and lessons from the Royal College of Art MA Painting degree show.

Woven throughout the Royal College of Art Masters in Painting program is one looming, much-discussed event: the degree show. You hear about it from day one, and by the time it arrives, it has taken on a near-mythical status.

And for good reason.

The Royal College of Art MA Painting Degree Show attracts more than its fair share of art world players. Curators, small and mid-sized galleries, the occasional blue chip heavyweight, international ambassadors, and in my year (2025), even royalty. No pressure.

The Reality of Installation (Plans Will Die)

During my year, the show was installed in the Painting Building, with students organized into rooms. Many groups self-organized early and discussed curation before installation day one.

Whether they did or didn’t, here’s the truth: everything goes out the window on the day.

Students are asked to curate themselves at first. This is intentional. Group curating is a learning exercise, but it is also where things get spicy. Put 150+ ambitious, talented painters into a competitive environment and conflict is not just likely, it is guaranteed. Honestly, I found it to be one of the most useful learning experiences of the entire program.

You learn fast how to roll with it.

If I had to boil my survival advice down, it would be this:

Have a strong backup painting you would genuinely be okay showing. Several students had to swap works to achieve a more harmonious room hang.

Arrive with options A, B, C, and D for placement in your assigned room. Visitors remember a well-curated room, not one strong painting fighting a bad hang. First impressions matter.

Be prepared to let go of your group’s plan. Tutors may change things right before final install. Deep breaths.

Show up every day of the degree show. You do not need to guard your painting like a museum artifact, but being present somewhere in the building, watching, listening, and learning is invaluable.

Take your vitamins. Sleep. Seriously. Getting sick during the show is a special kind of tragedy.

Be kind. Your cohort is your long-term community. The degree show is where you learn who you might want to collaborate with later.

Be forgiving. Stress does strange things to people. Side-step bad vibes when you can, stand up for yourself when needed, and stick close to those who keep things constructive.

In my year, the installation decisions landed in the end, so trust the process, a sentence that becomes a mantra during installation week.

The Feedback Loop (and Why It Matters)

Students genuinely welcomed the exposure. The Head of Painting Programme did an incredible job bringing in people who could speak critically and thoughtfully about the work.

After installation and before opening, art world visitors were invited to view the show privately. This was followed by a panel discussion where they shared feedback on the hang and reflected on the cohort as a whole. It helped us understand how the show might land with the public and how our work sat within a broader contemporary context.

On a personal level, it was also a moment to pause. To acknowledge the work we had just installed, mark the transition, and mentally prepare for opening day.

During the Show: Overwhelm, Then Momentum

Once the show opened, all bets were off.

The footfall was huge. The energy was intense. At first, it is overwhelming, but it quickly becomes an incredible opportunity to talk about your work, test different ways of explaining it, and see what actually resonates.

I loved this part.

I had spent the year agonizing over my artist statement. What to include, what to cut, what felt too personal or embarrassing. Over the course of the show, through dozens of conversations, I got my answers. Interestingly, the parts I had been most hesitant to share were often the ones people connected with most.

That does not mean public opinion should dictate how you speak about your work. But paying attention, really paying attention, can tell you a lot.

Going Beyond the “Typical” Degree Show

Each morning, the Head of Programme led VIP tours before opening hours. In the quiet, guided context, visitors could engage deeply with the work. This was another example of how the RCA program consistently goes beyond the baseline expectations of a degree show, and why its reputation holds.

After the show closed, tutors organized a final lecture and panel reviewing the installation, sharing professional documentation, and reflecting on the exhibition as a whole. It was a generous way to close the chapter. Acknowledging what had been accomplished while gently shifting our focus toward what comes next.

Because after the degree show, the real work begins.

If you’re curious, I’ve also written a separate piece reflecting on the RCA MA Painting program as a whole, and you can see my latest paintings post-RCA on Instagram @laladronaofficial .

Little Miss Perfect: The Void Inside Perfection

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:14:03 GMT

A feminist-psychoanalytic reading of Little Miss Perfect, where appearance and abjection converge in painted flesh.

When Perfection Becomes a Void

Little Miss Perfect (oil on canvas, 100x70cm) stages a collision between surface and interior. The title sounds playful, almost like a schoolyard nickname. But the painting reveals something darker: a bodily portal, a hollow vessel of flesh. If she were a character, she would be the empty container left by impossible expectations.

The looping brushstrokes mimic decorative ribbons yet sag with fleshy weight. What begins as ornament twists into viscera.

The clash between title and image invites laughter, but the humor is uneasy. Perfection, here, is not achievement. It is an absence.

Structural Violence and Feminist Critique

Perfectionism is not just personal neurosis; it is a disciplinary regime. Judith Butler describes how bodies are shaped and constrained by social norms, often to the point of erasure.¹ Little Miss Perfect makes that erasure visible: the polished surface collapses into abject matter.

Julia Kristeva’s notion of the abject is key here: what society rejects and casts out is what threatens to return.² The “perfect” body hides its wounds, but here those wounds spill onto the surface. The painting exposes the psychic cost of ideals that hollow us out from within.

Yet satire keeps the wound from being pure tragedy. The contradiction is deliberate: "Little Miss Perfect" is a cruel joke that provokes laughter before pulling the viewer toward empathy.

Decorative Flesh and Painterly Lineage

The painting also participates in a lineage of women painters who turned gesture into critique. Cecily Brown’s orgiastic swirls, Joan Semmel’s confrontations with the female body, Jana Euler’s warped archetypes, Lee Krasner’s fierce abstractions... all dissolve the boundary between surface and flesh.³

In Little Miss Perfect , the decorative becomes visceral. The swirling strokes resist containment even as they mimic polish. They are both allure and rupture, echoing Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the body without organs: a body refusing fixed structure, opening itself to intensity.⁴

Closing

Little Miss Perfect belongs to my current series of totemic satirical feminine archetypes. Each work personifies an invented figure: Madame Sidewalk staged the collision of body and city, while Little Miss Perfect exposes the psychic void behind perfection. Others in the series map the body against broader societal constructs.

You can see more from this series in my paintings page. For a companion reading, see my blog essay on Madame Sidewalk , where I expand this exploration of flesh, space, and power.

Bibliography

Butler, Judith. Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. Routledge, 1993.
Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Columbia University Press, 1982.
Nochlin, Linda. Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays. Routledge, 1988. (contextualizes feminist painters and abstraction; situates Krasner and Semmel historically, while providing a foundation for later readings of Brown and Euler).
Deleuze, Gilles, and Félix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. University of Minnesota Press, 1987.

Madame Sidewalk: Contemporary Painting at the Collision of Body and City

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:00:36 GMT

A critical reflection on how my painting Madame Sidewalk explores the entanglement of flesh, urban space, and power.

Painting the Collision of Flesh and Concrete

When I painted Madame Sidewalk (Oil on Canvas, 200x110cm), I wanted to capture the psychic violence of urban life. The painting stages a collision between body and city, where flesh and concrete merge into one another. Twisting strokes suggest both viscera and graffiti, at once raw matter and symbolic mark. Violent reds cut through darker architectural structures, evoking wounds and pressure points where desire meets control.

The title turns the sidewalk into a feminine body, both foundation and skin, constantly marked, erased, and renewed. Calling it Madame gives the city’s surface an erotic charge and a vulnerable humanity. Flesh becomes concrete, and concrete becomes flesh. What should feel stable begins to feel unstable, uncanny, even threatening.

The City as Body

Urban space has always carried with it questions of power, control, and vulnerability. Henri Lefebvre described the city as something produced, a system that inscribes itself onto bodies and behaviors.¹ Judith Butler’s writing on bodies in public space pushes this further, showing how our flesh is shaped by structures that discipline, contain, or exclude.² In Madame Sidewalk , this shaping takes on literal form: the built environment bleeds back, folding into tendons, muscle, and fat.

For me, the painting reveals the city as a body under pressure. It is not a neutral surface but one that absorbs violence, resists containment, and bears scars. When flesh and concrete become indistinguishable, we see the psychic costs of inhabiting structures that both sustain and suffocate us.

Process: Painting Against Gravity

My process for this work began on the floor. Without gravity dictating flow, I circled the canvas, diving in on my knees and letting the marks accumulate from every angle. Once dry, the painting came alive on the wall, where I mounted it vertically and began to push and pull forms with the brush.

This shift from horizontal to vertical is crucial. On the floor, the canvas absorbs gestures like a body under incision. On the wall, the painting reveals its wounds and structures back to me, demanding to be reworked, covered, and exposed again. The process mirrors the tension between control and resistance that the work enacts.

Embodied Knowledge

The bodily insistence in my paintings is not abstract. Beginning at sixteen, I underwent multiple reconstructive surgeries. I filmed the later operations and replayed them in my studio, absorbing the colors of surgical blue, the pale translucency of fat, the fibrous resistance of ligaments. This embodied archive imprinted itself onto my visual language.

In Madame Sidewalk , those internal forms emerge into contact with the external city. What I paint is not only a metaphor but also a memory. The violence inscribed into the body becomes a way to think about the violence inscribed into space.

Madame Sidewalk as Urban Flesh

Philosopher Achille Mbembe describes how political systems inscribe necropolitics onto the body, making flesh the site of control and exposure.³ In this sense, the urban wound in Madame Sidewalk is both literal and symbolic. The city becomes a body under surveillance, under incision, under repair.

This is not a portrait of one body or one city but an allegory of how structures bear down on flesh, and how flesh resists. The painted surface itself becomes a sidewalk, written on, wounded, constantly renewed.

Closing

Madame Sidewalk is part of my current body of work that creates abstract, figurative, totemic bodies representing satirical invented feminine archetypes. This painting is the collision between body and city. Others in the series stage collisions between body and societal constructs. Together, these figures reflect on the psychic and political pressures that shape how we live, move, and desire.

You can see more of this series in my paintings , or read about another painting in the series here .

Bibliography

Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Wiley-Blackwell, 1991.
Butler, Judith. Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. Routledge, 1993.
Mbembe, Achille. Necropolitics. Duke University Press, 2019.
Kristeva, Julia. Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Columbia University Press, 1982.
Irigaray, Luce. Speculum of the Other Woman. Cornell University Press, 1985.

How to Prepare a Portfolio for RCA Painting: 7 Tips from a Recent Graduate

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:24:40 GMT

Updated Jan. 2026

A clear and practical guide to building a strong portfolio for the Royal College of Art Masters in Painting program.

**DISCLAIMER: This advice is personal and not official. Always check the RCA MA Painting application page before you start for the most up-to-date requirements.

Introduction

Applying to the Royal College of Art is exciting, but putting together the portfolio can feel overwhelming. Requirements change slightly each year, so again always check the official RCA MA Painting application page before you start .

I graduated from RCA Painting in 2025, and over the years I have helped many prospective students and professional artists design portfolios for both applications and career opportunities. Below are five tips that address common pitfalls I have seen in portfolios for a master’s in painting.

1. Content

The portfolio should include a cover page and an artist statement, followed by a mix of full works and detailed shots. If the maximum length is 15 pages, plan for two pages dedicated to the cover and statement, with the remaining pages used to present finished pieces and close-up details.

2. Cover page tip

Choosing a cover image can be tricky. In most cases, it works best to use either an installation shot of your work in a space or a full-page detail shot of one of your pieces. Both approaches usually leave enough negative space to place your name, with “RCA MA Painting” below it.

Note: Choose your font carefully. You are applying to a contemporary painting programme, so your typography should reflect that. Serif fonts tend to signal tradition and classicism, while sans-serif fonts feel more contemporary. If your work intentionally references the past, a serif can make sense, but make the choice consciously and keep the font consistent throughout the portfolio.

3. Keep it simple

It can be tempting to show personality through unusual layouts or graphics, but this often makes a portfolio feel cluttered. Unless you have professional design training, a clean, minimalist layout works best. Simplicity reads as confidence and lets the work speak for itself.

A good rule of thumb is one artwork per page, ideally shown with a single image. This keeps the focus on the work and avoids visual distractions. There are exceptions, such as showing process or time-based work across multiple images, but aim to preserve generous white space and avoid overcrowding the page.

You can see this approach in the work I developed during my RCA Master’s in Painting , where documenting the work with high-quality images was essential for building effective online portfolios.

4. Standardize

Admissions panels review many portfolios, and consistency helps them focus on the art rather than the formatting. Decide on a layout that places the artwork image and text in a clear, consistent position, then repeat that structure for every page. Predictable style and formatting makes the portfolio easier to read and demonstrates professionalism.

5. Use a grid

Alignment might seem like a small detail, but trained eyes notice it immediately. To keep everything precise, use software that allows grid-based layouts:

Adobe InDesign (professional, paid)
Affinity Publisher (affordable one-time purchase)
Procreate
Canva (free and beginner-friendly)

Consistent alignment communicates discipline and attention to detail.

6. Process versus finished work

A common mistake is overloading a portfolio with process images. Most MA programs want to see finished work. Unless the process is integral to the piece itself, such as in performance, time-based work, or installation, focus on completed artworks. If process photos clarify the outcome and the process is unconventional rather than traditional preparatory work, include them sparingly. Otherwise, let your strongest finished works take the lead.

7. Write a short artist statement

RCA specifically asks for an artist statement as part of the portfolio requirements . Place a short artist statement (200 words max) at the beginning of your portfolio. Write it after you have laid out your portfolio so that it reflects the work you have actually included. Avoid summarizing page by page or any phrases like "In this portfolio you will find..." or what you aspire to do during the masters program. This is simply a statement on your work. Instead, highlight the themes, materials, and approaches that define your practice. If something does not appear in the portfolio, leave it out of the statement to avoid confusing the reader.

Final Thoughts

Your portfolio should be simple, consistent, and focused on your strongest work. These principles remain constant even when specific requirements change. A clear design and confident selection make it easier for the panel to engage with your art. These are just a few tips to hopefully get you started.

Have more questions? Curious about details such as how to caption images, which fonts work best, or how to make a straightforward portfolio design that still makes an impression? I offer 1-to-1 portfolio critique sessions fo r artists preparing for RCA or other programs. Book a session here .

Top 5 Books to Understand Expanded Painting

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 22:23:21 GMT

Beyond the obvious: five books that rethink what painting can be.

Why Expanded Painting, and Why These Books

“Expanded painting” is a central term in contemporary art, but what does it actually mean, and why does it matter today?

Mark Titmarsh’s Expanded Painting is the foundational book on the subject and a must-read for anyone entering the field. Since it is already the standard reference, I have not included it in this list. Instead, I want to share other texts that broaden the conversation and offer different perspectives.

For me, the question What is Expanded Painting? is urgent because my own practice crosses painting, video, performance, and installation. Expanded painting provides the language to situate this hybridity within a larger critical context.

Whether you are an artist, student, or curator, these five books will give you strong entry points into the foundations and ongoing relevance of expanded painting.

1. Rosalind Krauss – Sculpture in the Expanded Field (1979) - (essay)

This essay marks the conceptual starting point. Krauss dismantled traditional definitions of sculpture and created a model that allowed painting to move beyond its frame.

�� Why it matters: It provides the intellectual groundwork for thinking about painting in expanded terms.

2. Yve-Alain Bois & Rosalind Krauss – Formless: A User’s Guide (1997)

A study of “l’informe” (the formless) that destabilizes categories and undermines hierarchies of medium.

�� Takeaway: Expanded painting is not only about material expansion. It is also about undoing the very structure of classification.

3. Isabelle Graw, Daniel Birnbaum, and Nikolaus Hirsch (eds.) – Thinking Through Painting: Reflexivity and Agency Beyond the Canvas (2012)

This collection explores contemporary painting’s role beyond the limits of medium-specific discourse. The essays situate painting in dialogue with broader cultural and theoretical debates.

�� Why read it: It addresses painting’s expanded possibilities directly, offering multiple perspectives from leading thinkers.

4. Isabelle Graw – The Love of Painting: Genealogy of a Success Medium (2018)

Graw argues for painting’s persistence through its capacity to adapt and reinvent itself. Expanded painting is central to this ongoing vitality.

�� Key insight: Expanded painting demonstrates how painting continues to survive by evol ving its own terms.

5. Painting: Documents of Contemporary Art, edited by Terry R. Myers (2011) ⭐

An anthology dedicated directly to the term "painting", with essays exploring painting’s intersections with performance, photography, and installation.

�� If you only read one: This is the definitive volume on expanded painting.

Final Thoughts

Expanded painting is less a fixed category than an ongoing negotiation. It is painting stretched, reframed, and redefined. These five texts provide the conceptual and historical grounding to approach it critically and creatively.

For a broader introduction, see my overview of expanded painting .

Paris Rentrée 2025: Must-See Exhibitions Before Paris Art Basel

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 10:00:47 GMT

Monumental forms, material innovation, retrospective scale, and the painterly expanded—how Paris galleries are shaping the art landscape ahead of Art Basel.

Paris Rentrée 2025: 8 Exhibitions to See Ahead of Paris Art Basel

As Paris heads into Art Basel this October, its rentrée exhibitions make clear what the city is offering to the global field of contemporary fine art. Galleries are presenting shows that stretch painting into new materials, recast sculpture through the language of painting, stage retrospectives with museum-level depth, and reaffirm that traditional oil on canvas still carries weight today. As a painter tuned to how these shifts ripple through the medium, I experienced the rentrée not just as an observer but as someone reading its signals. Paris delivers material innovation, historical reflection, and canon formation, showing how art can push boundaries while staying critically and visually exacting.

1. Traditional Painting in Transition

Hauser & Wirth Paris — Rita Ackermann, Doubles (11 June – 4 October 2025)

Rita Ackermann’s Doubles presents oil on canvas and large-scale drawings that work with duality, inversion, and absence. The show draws on Virilio and Godard for conceptual weight, while remaining firmly in the terrain of painting. In a rentrée season where many exhibitions expand into new materials, Doubles offers a counterpoint: the square canvas itself becomes a site of recursion and transcendence. Double frames emerge within individual works, and entire canvases reflect one another, creating images that double back on themselves. Ackermann is in the process of being canonized, and this exhibition shows why, giving Paris a moment where painting affirms its strength through form and concept alike.

2. A Gallery-Scale Retrospective with Depth

AFIKARIS — Salifou Lindou, Carambolage (Carom Shots) (4 September – 1 November 2025)

This exhibition runs 4 September through 1 November 2025 at AFIKARIS. Curated by Louise Thurin (who co-curated FEMMES at Perrotin with Pharrell Williams), Carambolage assembles twenty-five years of Salifou Lindou’s work. The show resists linear chronology, letting recurring elements—corrugated iron, urban forms, figurative hints—intersect across decades. Thurin’s approach treats Lindou’s œuvre not as moments but as sustained inquiry into form, memory, and surface. This is Paris offering retrospective rigor in a gallery context, situating Lindou’s visual language with historical gravity.

3. Material Expansion of Painting

Galerie Poggi — Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, Pink and Green (4-20 September 2025 - LAST DAYS)

At Galerie Poggi, painting is extended materially. Troy Makaza’s These Drugs Don’t Work (2022) (image left) uses silicone with painterly force, threads spread over surface as though pigment itself. Alongside works by Christian Bonnefoi, Seffa Klein, Georges Tony Stoll, and Kees Visser, this exhibition shows painting’s renewed capacity when materials shift. While the title nods to color field history, the show asserts that Paris is a place where painting evolves through substance. Poggi gives viewers a vision of painting’s potential without sacrifice of its visual power.

4. Rediscovered Voices & Hybrid Imaginaries

Galerie Crèvecœur — Emma Reyes, Naturaleza Muerta Resucitando (5 September – 29 November 2025)

Galerie Crèvecœur presents the first Paris solo of Colombian artist Emma Reyes (1919–2003), a self-taught painter whose work blends memory, migration, and hybrid cultural forms. Reyes’s paintings move between floral surfaces, chimeric figures, and compositions that echo embroidery, grounding her practice in lived experience rather than formal schooling. The exhibition spans five decades, supplemented by archival materials, and follows recent institutional recognition at MAMCO Geneva and CAPC Bordeaux. In Paris, her work enters an international setting where painting’s expanded field is actively debated. The exhibition underscores how the city not only stages innovation but also recovers and reframes overlooked histories within the global narrative of contemporary art.

5. Painterly Sculpture and New Platforms for Paris

Brigitte Mulholland Gallery — Niamh O’Malley (4 September – 11 October 2025)

Niamh O’Malley’s solo with Brigitte Mulholland was a highlight of Paris Design Week, showing how design and fine art can merge successfully. O’Malley’s sculptures quietly echo the language of painting: thin metal lines suggest the delicacy of drips, while glass panes hold and diffuse light like translucent washes. These painterly associations appear in small details, giving the works a restrained intensity. Alongside this exhibition, Mulholland is asserting her role in the Paris scene by launching an independent showcase from 19–25 October 2025 at 7 Rue Froissart, gathering about seven galleries. Positioned as an alternative to the cancelled NADA Paris fair and running parallel to Art Basel, this initiative underscores her presence in shaping the city’s art landscape. Mulholland’s upcoming projects demonstrate how galleries now define themselves not only through representation but also through the platforms they build.

6. Subterranean Worlds and Ecological Imaginaries

Galerie Pavec — Isabelle Daëron, Water Calling: L’Appel de l’Eau (5 – 27 September 2025)

In Water Calling, Isabelle Daëron translates research on Kyoto’s underground water table into drawing, installation, and object. Curated with Yoshiko Nagai, the exhibition transforms scientific mapping into intimate cartographies and poetic gestures. A well-like installation anchors the space, while ceramic chantepleures adapted from medieval models merge function with ritual. Daëron’s painterly use of marker expands drawing into a language aligned with the discourse of expanded painting, turning data into visual rhythm. With this exhibition, Galerie Pavec positions itself as a space bringing ecological and cross-cultural inquiry into Paris, asserting how contemporary art makes visible what is usually hidden.

7. Concepts Made Visible Through Material

Dvir Gallery — Time Will Tell and Paper Veil (4 September - 18 October 2025)

Dvir Gallery’s dual presentation Time Will Tell and Paper Veil translates ideas into form. Time Will Tell draws from neon, altered objects, and light to materialize time. Paper Veil by Dor Guez uses layered photographs and torn paper to explore memory and erasure. The contrast between luminous presence and fragile surface shows how conceptual art must be grounded in matter to resonate. Paris benefits from this pairing because it underscores that ideas alone are necessary but not sufficient—material presence gives them force.

8. The Monument Reconsidered

Galerie Hussenot — Franco Mazzucchelli, Is It Yours? Is It Mine? (4 September - 11 October 2025)

At Galerie Hussenot, Franco Mazzucchelli’s exhibition revisits his inflatables from the 1960s and his later wall-reliefs. The outdoor public presence of the Art to Abandon works and the more traditional reliefs together illuminate a tension between collective reach and institutional setting. This is a show that asks what monument means today: how art operates in public life, in objecthood, in display. For Paris, this exhibition highlights how historical practices of radical form still have relevance.

What Paris Offers in the Expanded Art World

On the eve of Paris Art Basel, in the post-Brexit era when many galleries have relocated or expanded in Paris, the city is offering more than visibility. It is offering terrain. The rentrée exhibits make material innovation visible, present galleries staging platform-making alongside showing art, elevate retrospective and historical weight, extend painting into new materials, and affirm that tradition still carries power. What builds here is infrastructure of practice: not just new art but renewed institutions, modes of display, and platforms. Paris is becoming a node where the expanded art world converges.

Philemona Williamson’s Lopsided at Semiose Paris: Childhood, Memory, and Resistance on Canvas

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:22:08 GMT

In her new Paris exhibition at Semiose Gallery, Philemona Williamson reimagines childhood as allegory, layering memory, play, and defiance in vivid paintings.

The Pull of “Lopsided”

Last Saturday in Paris, Semiose Gallery opened its duo exhibition, with the front room wholly devoted to Philemona Williamson ’s latest exhibition, Lopsided . Even before entering, I was struck by the title. Lopsided isn’t a word we encounter often in the art world; it suggests imbalance, refusal of symmetry, a tilt that destabilizes and reveals. By coincidence, I had just finished a painting of my own titled Lopsided Prophecy , so the word already carried weight for me. Seeing it naming Williamson’s exhibition pulled me in directly, as if the show itself were already part of an ongoing conversation.

Childhood as Resistance

Inside, the space transformed into a cinematic corridor, lined with small-format canvases that read like memory-stills, each painting pulling viewers closer, each one slowing down time. Williamson reworks childhood not as nostalgia but as a terrain of fragility and resilience. The artist herself told me during the exhibition that the children grow up in environments that weren't really made for them. That tension charges every canvas.

In Shall Not Be Moved (2025) (image above), a lone figure braces against invisible forces, rigging a makeshift parachute. It is both play and protest: ingenuity turned into resistance. Elsewhere, in Blue Jays, Pink and Brown Limbs (2025), outlines remain raw, unfinished—forms half-emerging, half-receding—like memory itself, fragmentary and insistent. These paintings don’t conclude; they suspend.

Brushwork, Transparency, and the Unfinished

Her brushwork intensifies this drama. At this smaller scale, you can feel the hand in every mark: strokes accumulate, leaving behind the trace of insistence, the labor of painting itself. Layers of transparency open the surface, figures hovering as if between apparition and disappearance. In Blue Jays, Pink and Brown Limbs (2025)(1st image below), parts remain deliberately “unfinished,” (2nd image below) slipping into the half-formed realm of memory or dream . This refusal of completion pulls us into the in-between—where nothing resolves, but everything vibrates.

In Dialogue with Art History

Placed in Paris, Williamson’s work inevitably brushes against a long lineage of childhood in painting: Balthus’s voyeurism, Gauguin’s exoticism, Carroll’s Alice. But she redirects the conversation entirely. Her figures are neither passive muses nor distant projections. They belong to themselves, closer in spirit to Paula Rego’s feminist fabulism: bodies staging their own dramas, never reduced to spectacle. In Boundary Crossed (2023) (image below), two Valkyries straddle a carousel horse, already outgrowing toys, demanding mythic scale.

Why Lopsided Matters in Paris Now

Semiose’s decision to foreground these small canvases is sharp. Lopsided is intimate yet seismic, carrying both autobiography and allegory. In a Paris art season flooded with spectacle, Williamson’s show cuts differently: it doesn’t dazzle from afar; it pulls you in close, makes you crouch, makes you listen. Childhood here is not sweetness or loss. It is a battlefield of becoming. See the exhibition taking place between August 30th - October 11th.

Exhibition Information

Lopsided — Philemona Williamson
The Nature Poem — Laurent Proux
Semiose Gallery
44, rue Quincampoix, 75004 Paris
August 30 – October 11, 2025
semiose.com

About the Artist

Philemona Williamson (b. 1951, New York) is an African-American painter whose luminous, enigmatic canvases explore the thresholds of childhood, identity, and memory. Working directly on canvas without preparatory sketches, she creates layered palimpsests where figures emerge and recede, echoing the unfinished quality of dreams. Her subjects—children and adolescents—inhabit ambiguous worlds that oscillate between tenderness and resistance, autobiography and allegory. Williamson’s work has been exhibited across the United States and internationally, including retrospectives at the Montclair Art Museum and solo shows at Semiose, Paris. In 2022 she received the Anonymous Was A Woman prize. She lives and works in Montclair, NJ - instagram @philemona8

RCA MA Painting: An Honest Review From a 2025 Graduate

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 13:47:00 GMT

A full breakdown of my experience in the Royal College of Art’s Painting MA—what I learned, how the course is structured, and tips for making the most of it.

Introduction

I completed the MA Painting programme at the Royal College of Art in 2025. Before I applied, I searched everywhere for real, firsthand reviews—what it’s actually like to study painting at RCA, how the structure works, what challenges to expect, and how to make the most of the experience. Now that I’ve finished, I wanted to share my own experience for anyone considering the course.

This isn’t an official overview. It’s a reflection on what worked for me, what I learned, and how I approached the year. If you’re applying, planning to attend, or just curious, I hope this gives you something useful.

Going In With a Clear Plan

Going into the RCA MA Painting with a clear plan changed everything for me. I come from an interdisciplinary background—my past work often involved screens, video, and other media—but I made a conscious decision to leave all that behind and focus only on painting.

Before starting, I’d heard that in MA courses, you often learn more from your peers than from your tutors. Being surrounded by 150 painters felt like a unique opportunity to go deep. I didn’t want to rely on tools I already knew. I wanted to spend the year immersed in paint—expanding from within it, focusing on material, surface, and process—without falling back on installation or mixed media.

See my RCA paintings here

Starting with a Clear Intention

From the beginning, I committed Term 1 to experimentation. I tried wax, thick oil, new mark-making, texture-building, tool creation—anything I hadn’t pushed before. I gave myself permission not to have a final product. Just explore.

It wasn’t easy. There’s pressure to show what you’re about early on. People naturally want to understand where they fit in the group. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

The first couple of weeks were especially intense. Everyone was setting up, getting deliveries, figuring out their space. You could feel the tension. We were all just eager to start painting. The energy in the Painting Building was buzzing with anticipation.

Breaking Old Habits

Before RCA, my practice had become too controlled. I was working in a figurative, design-oriented way: lots of pre-sketching, mockups, clear plans. I think I was scared to fully let go in the paint.

But I knew something had to shift. Through tutorials, lectures, and honest conversations with peers, I started to approach painting differently. I began to treat the canvas as a relationship. Instead of trying to control it, I responded to what was happening in real time. That shift didn’t happen all at once, but by the end of Term 1, I had broken through something big.

Everyone has their own pace. Some people hit that shift in Term 2. Some right before the degree show. Some after. There’s so much packed into the year that you’ll probably keep processing it long after it’s over.

Understanding the RCA MA Painting Structure

The RCA Painting MA is self-led. If you want to use cross-departmental workshops like wood, metal, or photo, you have to take the initiative. Book your inductions online. Then go visit the workshops in person, talk with the technicians, and set up time. You need to be self-motivated, and you need to start early. No one does it for you.

In 2025, the programme introduced a personal tutor system based on studio groups. Your personal tutor follows you and your tutor group’s work throughout the year, which creates helpful continuity in the feedback. Each term includes three 1-to-1 tutorials: one with your personal tutor, one with an assigned tutor, and one you book yourself with any tutor of your choice. You can also catch tutors informally around the studios.

At first, the contact hours might feel limited. But as your work develops, they start to feel like enough. It becomes more about timing and how you use the conversations—not how many you have. Expect that you'll connect more easily with some tutors than others, but if open, you can learn something from all interactions. My advice: trust the rhythm. Go in open, with questions, but no fixed expectations. It all balances out.

Group Critiques and Finding Your Direction

Each term includes a group critique. A group of students installs work in a shared room, and a tutor facilitates a session where everyone responds to the paintings. These sessions ended up being some of the most valuable moments of the year—many different perspectives, fresh eyes, and honest feedback.

How you take that feedback is up to you. Personally, I realized that when I showed figurative work, the critique focused on composition, balance, and narrative. But I wanted to talk about emotional tone and presence. That disconnect helped me shift the work itself—toward something more abstract, more emotional, and less literal—so I could have the kinds of conversations I was actually interested in.

Make the Programme Work for You

This degree is what you make of it. You have to be proactive. But I will say, the Head of Programme was accessible and responsive. They listened to student feedback and made real-time adjustments where they could. Not everything can be changed—some systems are broader than the department—but I felt like our voices were heard.

The students who got the most out of the year were the ones who focused on what was available, not what was missing. RCA offers a lot: talented peers, supportive tutors, hands-on access to tools and workshops, and visiting artists who take the work seriously. I felt lucky to be in that world and to grow within it.

Don’t Miss the Visiting Lectures

The visiting artist lecture series and Philosophy lectures were some of the strongest parts of the programme. These weren’t filler events—they brought in real voices from the contemporary art world: artists, curators, and thinkers doing important work, and they pushed us to think more deeply about the painting process.

They weren’t mandatory, which meant the people who showed up genuinely wanted to engage. I went to as many as I could. Some of the most unexpected and valuable insights I had during the year came from those talks. Don’t skip them.

Written Assessments

Each term, we were asked to submit a written assessment outlining what we worked on and what influenced our practice during that period. These became a helpful way to reflect: to pause, take stock, and semi-close one chapter before starting the next. We received feedback on the write-ups, which helped shape our direction moving forward.

Throughout the year, we were also asked to write (and rewrite) our artist statement on a regular basis, often monthly. This was a reminder that the writing and the art-making go hand in hand. Both are evolving parts of the practice, and both can inform one another in unexpected ways.

At the end of the year, we submitted a final essay about our practice, including relevant references, and turned in a final portfolio that included our artist statement. We also had a Viva, where we spoke directly to examiners about our development over the year.

Alongside the lectures and tutorials, the written components kept the theoretical and conceptual level of the course high. They helped solidify a creative practice that was grounded in both making and thinking, fueling the work while also helping us speak about it with more clarity and depth.

RCA Degree Show: What to Expect

The year builds toward a public-facing degree show, where your work is shown to a wide audience. RCA came through with visibility: there were VIP preview days before the public opening for curators, gallerists, collectors, and other art-world professionals. There was also a private view for friends and family ahead of the launch.

Talking to people about my work—ranging from artists to general visitors—was one of the most important learning moments of the year. Seeing what resonated, what didn’t, and hearing how different people responded gave me insight that I’ll carry forward.

Another important part of the show: after installation, RCA invited a panel of industry professionals to critique the exhibition in a public session in the lecture theatre. We got to hear their honest impressions and ask them questions directly. It was a rare opportunity to see how the work landed outside the RCA bubble.

The lead-up to the show is intense. It’s probably the most stressful part of the course. I found that students who had attended RCA Painting shows before starting had a big advantage. They already knew what the space looked like, how people installed, and what kind of pressure to expect. If you’re applying or about to start the programme, go see a show ahead of time if you can. It makes a real difference.

You can approach the degree show however you want. Some students arrived on day one with a specific project in mind, and spent the year executing it. Others, like myself, followed a more open process—painting throughout the year and selecting work closer to the end. Both approaches are valid. It all comes down to your personal goals for the programme.

(dive deeper into the degree show with this RCA MA Painting degree show survival guide )

What Comes Next

Now that the year is over, I’m heading back into the studio on my own. I feel like my experience at the RCA helped me break down and then reconstruct a more robust, sustainable practice—one that feels aligned with who I am and where I want to go. I'm more confident in my own rhythm and pacing, and I feel like I’ve developed a strong body of work that holds professional, material and conceptual weight.

Whether you’re preparing to apply or just curious about what studying painting at RCA is really like, I hope this helped fill in some of the gaps. For me, it was a transformative year—not because it gave me answers, but because it pushed me to keep asking better questions.

Curious about what the RCA Painting degree show was like? See this article .

And if you'd like to see my tips on preparing an MA Fine Arts Portfolio, check out this article .

Feel free to reach out or follow my work on instagram @laladronaofficial

�� I also do coaching/critiques: Reach out for 1-1 sessions from me here .

Fantastical B****: Partial Objects, and the Politics of Desire

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 13:00:59 GMT

A final painting that challenges psychoanalytic narratives and pushes the boundaries of what painting can do and mean.

What Is Fantastical B****?

Fantastical B**** (Oil and acrylic on canvas, 200x120cm) is the final painting I created during my Master’s in Painting at the Royal College of Art. More than a conclusion, it marks a radical departure, both from the institution and from traditional frameworks of painting. It exists at the crossroads of theory, affect, and rebellion, squarely positioned within the field of expanded painting.

Rather than expand medium physically, the work expands conceptual limits, challenging the expectation that painting must represent, resolve, or conclude. It is a final work that refuses finality.

Painting as Desiring-Machine – A Deleuze and Guattari Perspective

Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s theory from Anti-Oedipus, Fantastical B**** abandons the canvas as a space of symbolic representation. Instead, it becomes a desiring-machine, a site of ongoing production where libidinal flows, ruptures, and intensities dominate over formal structure or psychological coherence.

What this means in practice is that the painting doesn’t aim to represent a hidden meaning or personal story. There’s no central figure to decode, no message to extract. Instead, the painting operates by activating sensation... through clashing forms, unstable space, and unresolved energies. The work is not about what it represents, but about what it does : how it moves, disrupts, and affects the viewer.

This is not art as the expression of repressed content. It is art as production —where meaning emerges through movement, through tension, through becoming. The painting is alive with contradiction, not as a puzzle to solve but as an experience to undergo.

Partial Objects and Fragmented Desire

Central to this painting’s conceptual gravity is the partial object, a psychoanalytic term refigured by Deleuze and Guattari not as a developmental stage to move beyond, but as something with its own political and affective force. In Fantastical B****, the partial object can be understood as a kind of body without organs—fragments of a body, interior or exterior, that resist being assembled into a coherent whole.

The painting refuses stable definition or fixed meaning, constantly slipping away from what is known or nameable.

The visual language of Fantastical B****, fractured, toxic, chaotic—echoes this refusal. It pushes back against totalizing form, instead privileging rupture, ambiguity, and raw affect. These are not symbols waiting to be interpreted; they are affective nodes. Each shape pulses with its own autonomous force, detached from any fixed system of meaning.

Deterritorialization and Smooth Space

Rather than offering a fixed space or centered subject, the painting generates what Deleuze and Guattari call smooth space, a non-hierarchical terrain of transformation and flow. There is no ground, no figure, no final structure. There is only affective terrain, constantly shifting. We see this in the painting composition, where there is a destabilising orientation, almost an anti-gravity feeling.

In this way, Fantastical B**** deterritorializes the painting tradition itself. It refuses to belong, to be framed, to be explained.

Expanded Painting and the Refusal of Closure

What makes Fantastical B**** an example of expanded painting is not its material ambition, but its ontological one. It expands what painting is and does by:

Collapsing the distinction between painting and event
Rejecting the need for visual or conceptual resolution
Disrupting viewer orientation and spatial logic
Refusing containment within institutional, psychological, or aesthetic categories

As the final work made at the RCA, it acts less as a conclusion and more as an exit wound —a refusal to graduate neatly. It is a performative unmaking, echoing Deleuze and Guattari’s view that art is not about identity or expression, but about becoming .

Conclusion – Painting as a Political Event

Fantastical B**** is not just a painting. It is a machinic, conceptual and political event . It embodies the force of desire untethered from symbolic grids. It resists the tidy conclusions of psychoanalysis, traditional academic programs, and formalism alike.

In doing so, it does not just expand painting; it reconfigures its territory entirely .

Reference:

partial objects by Kenneth Surin here

If you'd like fine art practice and portfolio critique to help you reach your art or institutional goals, sign up for my online 1-1 coaching here.

Confronting the Paint: How I Rediscovered My Painting Process

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:12:06 GMT

Embracing Spontaneity, Mark-Making, and the Raw Power of Paint in Contemporary Practice

Rethinking Painting: A Shift in My Artistic Process

When I first started this blog, my focus was on painting in the expanded field —exploring how painting intersects with installation, fabrication, and new media. But recently, I had a realization: I needed to refocus on painting itself.

This shift was prompted by my acceptance into the Royal College of Art’s MA Painting program, where I began questioning my relationship with paint. Had my interdisciplinary approach been a way to avoid paint rather than expand upon it?

Embracing Spontaneity: Breaking Free from Over-Planning

I had become a paint-phobic painter —using paint only as a means to execute pre-planned sketches rather than allowing the process to lead me. The most exciting part of my practice wasn’t the painting itself but rather the fabrication —how I could manipulate or deform the canvas, or add installation or new media to it. While this approach wasn’t inherently wrong, I started feeling a lack of spontaneity in my work.

With only one year in the RCA program , I made the decision to confront the physicality of paint . I wanted to explore:

Mark-making and its emotional impact
Texture and layering techniques
Removing vs. applying paint
New mediums and tools

I started mixing my oil paint with sand, with beeswax. I tested out their texture, transparency, and dry times. Strangely enough, this deep dive into materials led me to an unexpected revelation: I needed to reintroduce drawing into my painting process (recent drawing I did in March 2025 above) .

Returning to Drawing: A Forgotten Foundation

Like many artists, I started with drawing —sketching constantly from a young age. But as I transitioned to painting, I was trained to move away from line-based work and focus on light and form instead. Drawing within painting always felt like an artistic taboo.

However, at the RCA , I wanted to let go of over-planning and rediscover expressive freedom. I took a large canvas , placed it on the floor, and let my body movements guide the paint (process in video above) . The marks and traces left behind became the foundation of my paintings. I later exaggerated the forms and lines with oil sticks and pastels, and even in some cases, with pigmented cold wax.

What emerged was unexpected—lines reminiscent of doodles, sketches; automatic gestural lines one might do absentmindedly in a notebook. Instead of suppressing them, I decided to amplify and celebrate these types of "hidden" or formerly thought of as "amateur" marks , giving them a new meaning.

Gutai Movement & Egon Schiele: The Power of the Black Line in Painting

Like the artists of the Gutai movement (1954–1972), my practice embraces experimentation, performance, and material exploration , prioritizing freedom, action, and spontaneity . Gutai artists rejected the paintbrush but not the paint , exploring paint's potential through unconventional tools— body parts, machines, and physical gestures . What we see as viewers are the traces of these encounters between paint, tool, and surface. While my process begins with this raw interaction, I later take control, shaping the painting with intention.

Similarly, Egon Schiele fully embraced the expressive power of line , even using flat black (right-out-the-tube black) , a color often avoided in painting. Traditional painters consider pure black a faux pas because it can flatten shadows. However, I think black can be an honest, raw element , evoking drawing-like qualities —a direct, unfiltered mark laid bare for the viewer.

Final Thoughts: Balancing Expansion and Focus in Painting

As an artist, I see expansion and contraction as part of the creative cycle. There are moments to experiment widely and moments to go deep into one medium . Right now, I am embracing the depth of painting —testing its limits and discovering its infinite possibilities .

Below, the painting I'm currently working on, details featured above in blog article.

Sensation Over Aesthetics | A Brave and Vulnerable Journey to Style

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 08:02:22 GMT

Letting Go of Aesthetics to Explore the Power of Texture, and Sensorial Experience in Artmaking

Embracing Sensation Over Aesthetics in My Time at Royal College of Art

There’s something about the experience of painting with my eyes closed that captivates me—it’s as if I’m going beyond visual interpretation and diving deeper into the realm of pure sensation. This is why I’ve recently found myself drawn to using thicker and thicker paint. I want to place the paint down, feel it, and move it around with my hands—not in a controlled, design-oriented way, but in a more visceral, instinctive manner. My goal isn’t to create an image or something traditionally "aesthetic," but rather to feel what feels good and explore those sensations throughout the process. This exploration is just the beginning; I see it as a launching point toward something even more profound.

These ideas were solidified by my experience of closing my eyes and running my hands through the paint seen in this video here .

Learning Through Process: "Taking Care" and "Destroying"

After a tutorial with my personal tutor, she recommended a fascinating approach: to both "take care" of and "destroy" in my painting process. I followed her advice, really trying to "take care" of the canvas, which for me meant massaging the paint onto the surface. It reminded me of how I’ve handled my own scars in the past, working gently yet with purpose. But the process was physically demanding—my hands were sore for days afterward! While it’s not a sustainable method for me, I discovered something valuable: this technique created a beautifully blurred effect with acrylic paint (image below), one that I’ll likely incorporate into future works in selective areas.

This exercise also led me to a deeper realization about the relationship between "taking care" and "destroying." Rather than existing as opposing forces, I see now that destruction is sometimes necessary for true care to emerge—like in reconstructive surgery, where something must be broken down to rebuild better. This discovery feels incredibly important for my work moving forward. (Below, images of the process of painting, when I intentionally "take care" of the canvas.)

Breaking Free From References and Finding My Voice

Alana also emphasized the need for me to develop my own artistic language—not one that mimics Philip Guston (below left image) or any other influences. However, I can’t deny that there’s something intriguing about the "Guston-like" style I’ve been developing, even before I fully recognized his influence. The organic figures I’ve been creating, combined with a similar pink color palette (my work below, center and right images), might draw comparisons to his work, but I’m confident that as I continue down this path, I’ll uncover something distinctly my own. I believe that this journey is being guided by something deep within me. At first, it may remind others of familiar artists, but with time, it will evolve into something unique and personal.

Moving Beyond Representation: Texture, Feeling, and Vulnerability

This moment in my artistic practice feels completely new. Instead of focusing solely on representation or conveying a specific message through my painting, I’m beginning to pay more attention to texture, feeling, and sensation—the visceral aspects of creating art. It’s a vulnerable place to be because, truthfully, I don’t always like the work I’m producing right now. But I also know that these experiments are essential. They’re feeding back into my practice, allowing me to expand my range of techniques and tools that will sustain my work in the long term.

This experience is about pushing boundaries and trusting that by embracing the tactile, messy, and uncertain elements of the process, I’ll ultimately find my voice. I believe that’s where the magic happens—when we let go of the need for perfection, and external validation, and allow ourselves to truly feel.

Moving into the Royal College of Art: Paint Experiments and Settling In

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:57:25 GMT

The messy update on what I've been up to at Royal College of Art

Introduction to My New Studio at Royal College of Art

I've officially moved into my studio at the Royal College of Art (RCA), where I'm sharing the space with two or three other incredible artists. We each have our own dedicated wall to work on, and the creative energy here is palpable. I can already feel how this cohabitation will drive our artistic practices forward, as we inspire and learn from one another. Sometimes I think it's wild that we, random people from all different cultures and walks of life, have been brought together in this room to work for a year. What will come from that? Who knows!

Deeper Look Into Tracey Emin's Paintings

Recently, one of my studio neighbors lent me a book on Tracey Emin's paintings. As I flipped through the pages, I was struck by the looseness of her paint strokes and the restrained use of color. Her work is deceptively simple yet emotionally complex, something I find fascinating. Emin’s compositions often feature an outline of a figure, with expressive strokes and backgrounds that seem to breathe with life.

What stood out to me was the way her work invites the viewer to fill in the emotional and physical details, creating a unique collaboration between the artist and the audience. Inspired, I attempted my own version of a "Tracey Emin" painting using color pencils, but found that I overdrew certain areas, losing the looseness and spontaneity. While I’m unsure if I’ll continue down this path, this exercise showed me the importance of rediscovering my own line style.

Experimenting with Large Format Painting

Since moving into my new studio, I’ve been eager to push my boundaries by experimenting with large format painting. Up until now, I’d never painted anything over 120 cm, so I decided to challenge myself by working on a larger scale. I rolled out 2 pieces of canvas, each about 113x165cm each, and stapled them to the wall, since I didn't have stretchers of that size. Besides, since these would be experiments, I thought it would be okay to try out painting against the wall, unstretched. I wanted to create something abstract and unfiltered, allowing the unconscious mind to guide the process.

After stapling a large canvases to the wall and priming them, I began drawing shapes that came to mind without overthinking or editing. I then determined the light source and used my scratching technique to add texture and form to the objects (the result of this part shown in the above left image). This method of scraping adds depth to cylindrical shapes, and I find that it bridges my love for both drawing and painting. However, painting this way, solely with oil paint, uses A LOT of oil paint, so I'm beginning research into different materials and mediums I can mix with the paint to increase the thickness and reduce the amount of oil paint required.

Interestingly, even when I try to be more expressive, my work remains defined and controlled. This balance between control and freedom is something I plan to explore further in the future, however my aim is to become more expressive, more free in my artwork. This is precisely why I decided to close my eyes, and put my hands on the painting, feeling it instead of seeing it, wiping away parts of the painting (image above right, and video of process below).

Perfecting My Gauze-Wrapped Canvas Design

While at the Royal College of Art, I also plan to refine my gauze-wrapped canvas technique. Currently, I use all the necessary materials to ensure the durability of the canvases, but I believe there is always room for improvement. Below, you can see the front and back of my painting "Chronically Separated" (2024). I'd like to design a way to make to secure the back further to increase durability, and perhaps make it more pleasing aesthetically. I hope to learn even more from my peers and professors at RCA, enhancing both my method and the longevity of my work.

Finding Inspiration in Everyday Sketching

Before I had full access to my RCA studio, I found myself sketching different ideas for future art pieces. I let myself be inspired by words or concepts. For example, one of my sketches (below left) was inspired by the word “money.” This practice of allowing words or ideas to guide my creativity has opened up new pathways. I feel like they are a good launching point for beginning to paint from the unconscious.

Conclusion: A Journey of Artistic Exploration

My time at the Royal College of Art has just begun, but I already feel deeply connected to the space, my fellow artists, and my own evolving artistic practice. From experimenting with large-format canvases to drawing inspiration from Tracey Emin, this experience promises to push my work in new and exciting directions.

I can’t wait to see what developments come next in my practice.

Expanded Collage and Assembly in Art: From Reconstructive Surgery to New Media

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Sat, 14 Sep 2024 12:57:02 GMT

How Experiences with Reconstructive Surgery Shaped My Artistic Exploration of Collage and Assemblage .

Introduction: Discovering Collage and Assembly in My Art

Through my personal experiences and reflections, I’ve come to realize that collage and assembly are central to my work. This connection between my art and my own life and body experience has been a key revelation.

Living with Unilateral Breast Agenesis and Reconstructive Surgery

Growing up with a condition called unilateral breast agenesis—where one breast grows, and the other doesn’t develop—I had my first breast reconstructive surgery at 16. Doctors augmented the non-developed side using an implant to match the volume of the other breast. I lived with this implant for 17 years before removing it, along with my other breast, just a year ago. (You can see an image of my breast implant below, which I kept as a display after the removal.)

Feeling "Assembled" in My Body and Art Practice

For most of my life, I’ve felt like there was something “added” to me. It’s as if my body was a blend of biological and synthetic parts, a sensation I could never ignore. This feeling is likely why I’m so drawn to the concept of collage and assembly in my art. Just as doctors assembled my body to "make me whole," I find myself assembling in my art practice—perhaps as a way to regain control over my body and my identity.

Exploring Collage at the Royal College of Art

Before my time at the Royal College of Art, I hadn’t really explored traditional collage. However, during a collage assignment, I started recognizing elements of my work that aligned with the concept of collage but in unconventional ways. I began integrating video screens into paintings, expanding the idea of collage beyond its traditional definition of reassembled paper.

If my body, reconstructed with a synthetic breast implant and natural tissue, was itself a form of collage, this led me to explore collage in other forms. I started to see that collage didn’t need to be limited to paper—it could be digital, physical, or even conceptual.

"Virtual Reverence": A Collage of Painting and Live-Video

One of my works, " Virtual Reverence ," is a piece that integrates painting with live-camera video. Here, I explore the theme of fragmentation inherent in collage by portraying the crucifix with Jesus' body in pixel form. This fragmentation reflects our digital reality and comments on our complex techno-spiritual relationship with the online world. The piece critiques the forced narcissism we often see on social media platforms, where we present ourselves as "the chosen one."

Drawing Inspiration from Nam June Paik's "TV Buddha"

"Virtual Reverence" echoes Nam June Paik’s “TV Buddha” (1976), a piece that features similar elements of camera, screen, and religious imagery - expanding collage to include new media and found objects. Although I hadn't discovered Paik’s work prior to creating "Virtual Reverence," it was essential to learn about him, as he’s considered the pioneer of video art. In "TV Buddha," there’s a feedback loop where Eastern philosophy meets Western technology, with a religious object gazing at itself through a television—a potential symbol of spirituality and self-reflection.

In contrast, my piece portrays the viewer as the religious figure, reflected both in the painting and on the screen, creating a feedback loop that the viewer can’t ignore.

(Note: See other reference of video-integrated paintings by Lans King here .)

Early Works: Using Collage as Reference for Paintings

Upon reviewing my earlier paintings, I noticed that I had unconsciously used collage as a reference in several pieces. I would gather images online, reassemble them, and then paint based on these references. One example is my painting "The Viewing" (pictured below), where the assembly of online-sourced image fragments became a foundation for the painting.

Returning to Traditional Collage Techniques

After this theoretical exploration into expanded collage, I felt the need to experiment with traditional photo collage. I used a mix of my own printed photos (documenting healing from my past reconstructive surgeries) and images sourced online. The results of these traditional collages are displayed below, showcasing my journey from digital to physical forms of collage. You can see images of some collage pieces made from this exercise, such as "Make it Pretty," and "Fix" above in this article.

Expanded Painting in 'Virtual Reverence': Pixels, Live Camera, and Video Art

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:58:13 GMT

Exploring the Boundaries of Art: Expanded Painting, Pixels, and the Digital Crucifix in 'Virtual Reverence

Expanded Painting: Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional Oil on Canvas

In this expanded painting, I have pushed the boundaries of traditional oil on canvas by cutting a hole in the canvas to frame a video screen. This piece, titled Virtual Reverence (2024) , includes a live camera that projects a real-time image onto the screen, transforming the artwork into an interactive mirror for any viewer who approaches it.

Video Integrated Art: The Concept Behind Virtual Reverence

During my latest solo exhibition Virtual Reverence in April 2024, titled after this piece, I showed this piece with the live camera feed also being projected into a separate room within the exhibition. This setup created a compelling dynamic, as viewers were unaware that their faces and behaviors were being broadcast live to an audience in another room. Through this expanded painting, I explore themes of social media and the act of broadcasting ourselves to the world, emphasizing how our images can be unknowingly used to capture the attention of others.

The oil painting that frames the video screen in Virtual Reverence depicts a pixelated crucified Jesus, reinforcing the idea that we see ourselves not only as 'the chosen one' but also as willing martyrs for the benefit of social media companies and big data.

Pixels and Symbolism: The Crucifix and Jesus in Virtual Reverence

Art Beyond Technology: The Meaning of Virtual Reverence When the Screen is Off

It's always important for me that the artwork retains its meaning, even if the technology is not working or the battery is dead. Even when the screen is turned off, it serves as a black mirror that still reflects the viewer who approaches it (image below).

Crafting the Expanded Painting: From Stretcher Bars to Pixels

I stretched the canvas over custom support stretcher bars, carefully crafting the hole (frame) for the screen. I was delighted to witness the seamless execution of my concept, wrapping the canvas around the plexiglass strips. Another success—a moment of pride. Once again, that bliss that comes from experimenting with a new idea and seeing it come to fruition (image below is a page from my sketchbook showing preparatory work for the painting Virtual Reverence (2024) ).

Pixelated Style: Exploring New Artistic Techniques in Virtual Reverence

Finally, it was painting time. I carefully selected colors that harmonized with one of the selfie camera program filters (sepia). To add versatility, I blended in some greys, anticipating the use of the camera filter in black and white. This marked my inaugural attempt at a pixelated style on canvas, an experience that brought me genuine joy. Exploring this style allowed for a more liberated approach to my brushstrokes, fostering a growing sense of looseness and spontaneity in my painting technique. Opting for a pixelated style not only granted freedom to my hand but also seamlessly resonated with the overarching concept of the art piece.

Influences and Inspirations: The Impact of Tony Oursler on Virtual Reverence

I believe the piece Virtual Reverence was made possible by the influence of Tony Oursler's work (image above) on me over the years. The way he has integrated screens into 2D and 3D work creates an entirely new universe that questions the boundaries between human and machine. In Oursler's work, I find connotations with The Ship of Theseus, mentioned by Plutarch and later modified by Thomas Hobbes. What are the parts that make us human? If a being or machine is recognized by another human as human, does that make them human? How many "passing" as human parts/elements have to be added to a machine before we recognize the machine as human? I believe these questions can be effectively explored through cross-genre art, such as expanded painting. By its very nature, expanded painting pushes and blurs boundaries, creating space for innovation and broadening our ways of thinking.

Expanded Note-taking Techniques & Barbara Kruger’s Digital Collage

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:57:34 GMT

Expanding Note-taking Techniques: Innovative Approaches to Enhance Creativity Beyond Traditional Methods

Expanding the Concept of Note-Taking

Do you want an almost guaranteed method for having an artistic breakthrough? It's simple. Change the way you brainstorm. During a brainstorming session for new paintings, I found myself drawn into the act of note-taking. This led me to question the traditional methods, realizing that note-taking isn't confined to just pencil and paper.

Alternative Methods for Capturing Ideas:

Audio Notes: Capture the ambiance of your environment or the sound of your writing to add a new dimension to your ideas.
Mixed Media Mark-Making: Combine different materials and techniques to create a multi-layered approach to note-taking.
Frottage: Use imprints and textures to convey ideas, offering a tactile dimension to your notes.
Drawing Negative Space: Focus on the spaces around your subject to capture an alternative perspective, challenging the focus on the subject itself.

Expanded Note-taking's Impact on Creativity

These methods can lead to artistic breakthroughs by pushing you out of your comfort zone. For someone like me, who often rushes through the creative process, forcing myself to explore these alternative routes has consistently led to innovative ideas and new artistic directions.

Enhancing a Mind Map with Automatic Writing

While brainstorming ideas, I was able to break my ideas down into 5 categories, which I used for the launching point of a mind-map. I further developed my 5-word mind map by integrating it with automatic writing (image above). This approach allowed me to dive deeper into each topic, freely jotting down any questions or thoughts that emerged. The process felt organic, with the sentences swirling and dancing across the page. My words and ideas embodied the space in a new way that opened up my mind to not only "information" but to movement and form.

Exploring Barbara Kruger’s Flag & Digital Collage Method

The content of the questions I wrote about freedom reminded me of Barbara Kruger's work with the American flag (below). For a moment, I felt like I was immersed in her process, somehow connected to the same channel she was on as she created the piece.

Barbara Kruger's "method consists of developing compositions digitally on a computer and transposing the billboard-sized images on to various surfaces1." I usually like working manually, but her process is digital, and so I tried experimenting with different digital renditions of the note-taking.

Digital Experimentation Inspired by Barbara Kruger

I experimented by adding a blue square with red and white stripes, mimicking the American flag, to the "freedom" section of my mind map. The static flag background contrasted beautifully with the swirling handwritten text, creating a visually compelling piece (below).

Further experiments involved overlaying other sections of the note-taking onto my preparatory sketches. This approach helped me visualize how the words would interact with a painting I am preparing.

Iteration and Refinement in Digital Collage

One of my final experiments focused on zooming in on a particular iteration, which resulted in a composition with a slightly blurry background. This added a sense of depth and intrigue to the piece (image below).

In contrast, a more complex scene I sketched turned out too chaotic when overlaid with digital elements. It highlighted the importance of balance in visual composition (below).

Finally, I settled on a version with a pink tint. The pink, representing both femininity and a lighter shade of red (reminiscent of blood), felt like an appropriate aesthetic choice, symbolizing the intersection of beauty and abjection in my work.

Key Takeaways from Expanded Note-taking

This session emphasized the importance of switching up the creative processes we take for granted. Overall, it's about slowing down and questioning our habits and assumptions. It’s about venturing out to do things in ways we haven't before, to bring about artistic innovation and breakthroughs. This session also taught me the importance of preserving both sketches and notes, not just for archival purposes but also for expanding creative processes. Experimenting with Barbara Kruger's digital collage methods, paired with my expanded note-taking, inspired new technical skills and enhanced my artistic vision.

Ultimately, these explorations have broadened my appreciation for various forms of art, contributing to greater freedom in my creative expression. I've applied the concepts from expanded painting to expand the note-taking process, leading me to more innovative thinking in my art practice.

References

Barbara Kruger Artist Profile

What is Xpainting with Lala Drona?

drona.lala@gmail.com (Lala Drona) — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 11:47:01 GMT

Welcome to Xpainting with Lala Drona

ABOUT THE BLOG

Welcome to Xpainting, a blog dedicated to exploring the world of Expanded Painting and beyond. Expanded Painting—defined as painting plus anything else¹—is a field that extends far beyond traditional paint on canvas. It embraces the tools and media of traditional painting or adapts non-traditional media in a 'painterly' fashion. As an interdisciplinary artist with a deep commitment to painting, discovering the field of Expanded Painting was a refreshing experience. It allowed me to merge my diverse practice with the canvas. Throughout this blog, I'll guide you through my creative processes, highlight expanded painting contemporaries in the field, and offer sneak peeks into my own artistic journey at the Royal College of Art MA Painting Programme and beyond.

See how these ideas come alive in my paintings

EXPANDED PAINTING IN ART HISTORY:

Expanded painting could be defined "as painting plus something else1," with one of its earliest appearances being Picasso’s Guitar. This work marked a significant departure from traditional painting techniques, representing the furthest extreme of his Cubism exploration. Picasso's Guitar was not merely a painting; it was a three-dimensional construction that blurred the lines between painting and sculpture. This approach opened new avenues for artistic expression, allowing for the incorporation of different materials and forms into the realm of painting.

Picasso soon returned to two-dimensional painting. However, his brief time in expanded painting had a lasting impact on the art world, inspiring generations of artists. For instance, Vladimir Tatlin's Painting Relief in 1914 can be seen as a direct descendant of Picasso's Guitar (image below).

In the 1960s, Lucio Fontana's slashed canvases (above right) took the concept of expanded painting to another level. By cutting through the surface of the canvas, Fontana challenged the notion of the painting as a flat, two-dimensional object. His work emphasized the physicality of the medium and introduced a spatial dimension that invited viewers to consider the space beyond the canvas (which is what I aim to do!).

Examining the work of our ultra-contemporary artists in expanded painting, I considered Katharina Grosse (above), renowned for her in situ paintings. Grosse's use of spray paint transforms architecture, interiors, and landscapes into immersive artworks.

All of these artists are excellent examples of where expanded painting began and where it stands today. However, the practitioner who inspires me the most is Tony Oursler (see image above). He uses projections and screens, and has sometimes integrated them within paintings.

FINAL THOUGHTS, CRITICAL REFLECTION ON EXPANDED PAINTING

The reason Tony Oursler's approach to expanded painting is so important to me is that I also enjoy blending new media with traditional painting. However, I believe I am more dedicated to the canvas and the traditional medium of oil paint than Oursler is. I appreciate the mix of the traditional and the new (see my painting "Virtual Reverence below"), but sometimes I create solely without incorporating new media. My expanded painting techniques can also involve canvas cut-outs and mixed media paint. Either way, seeing an example like Tony Oursler shows that there is a precedent for the type of expanded painting I aspire to do.

Why do I situate my practice in expanded painting?

Expanded painting is "painting plus anything else." I use the painted canvas as main medium I choose to work through. I start at the canvas and integrate expanded forms of art there (cut-outs, adding video screens, mixed media paint).
Like Lucio Fontana, I want to invite viewers to consider the space beyond the canvas (the "expanded" part of "expanded painting").
My work identifies with "Painting Reliefs," like those of Vladamir Tantain -- however, I am more married to paint as a medium than a lot of these other artists.

Moving forward, I would like to investigate more about how he presents his work. Blending technology into fine art can invite numerous technical difficulties. I also think I should examine the different support systems he has fabricated to support the screens. This will give me more ideas as I progress.

Below you'll find my expanded painting in my solo exhibition "Virtual Reverence"(2024). It was a live-camera video screen integrated into an oil painting.

SOURCES:

1. Titmarsh, Mark, Expanded Painting: Ontological Aesthetics and the Essence of Colour (Bloomsbury academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury publishing Plc, 2017)

2. Image taken from here: https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/picasso-guitars-1912-1914

Want to see my recommendations on which books to read regarding expanded painting? Go here .

Xpainting with Lala Drona

Caracas: A Triptych on War and Duality through Painting

On Duality, Paint, and the Day My Two Countries Went into Conflict

Two Countries, One Body

﻿

On January 3rd, 2026, the country that made one half of me invaded the country that made the other.

I. 02:00h — Blackout

II. 02:30h — Urban Combat ﻿

III. 03:30h — Extraction ﻿

﻿ On the Body of a City

﻿ Picasso's Guernica & Drona's Caracas

The Minute Mark

﻿

What Preparing for the RCA MA Painting Degree Show Is Really Like

Installation week, curation, and lessons from the Royal College of Art MA Painting degree show.

The Reality of Installation (Plans Will Die)

The Feedback Loop (and Why It Matters)

During the Show: Overwhelm, Then Momentum

Going Beyond the “Typical” Degree Show

Little Miss Perfect: The Void Inside Perfection

A feminist-psychoanalytic reading of Little Miss Perfect, where appearance and abjection converge in painted flesh.

When Perfection Becomes a Void

The clash between title and image invites laughter, but the humor is uneasy. Perfection, here, is not achievement. It is an absence.

Structural Violence and Feminist Critique

Decorative Flesh and Painterly Lineage

Closing

Bibliography

Madame Sidewalk: Contemporary Painting at the Collision of Body and City

A critical reflection on how my painting Madame Sidewalk explores the entanglement of flesh, urban space, and power.

Painting the Collision of Flesh and Concrete

The City as Body

Process: Painting Against Gravity

Embodied Knowledge

Madame Sidewalk as Urban Flesh

Closing

Bibliography

How to Prepare a Portfolio for RCA Painting: 7 Tips from a Recent Graduate

A clear and practical guide to building a strong portfolio for the Royal College of Art Masters in Painting program.

**DISCLAIMER: This advice is personal and not official. Always check the RCA MA Painting application page before you start for the most up-to-date requirements.

Introduction

1. Content

2. Cover page tip

3. Keep it simple

4. Standardize

5. Use a grid

6. Process versus finished work

7. Write a short artist statement

Final Thoughts

Top 5 Books to Understand Expanded Painting

Beyond the obvious: five books that rethink what painting can be.

Why Expanded Painting, and Why These Books

﻿ 1. Rosalind Krauss – Sculpture in the Expanded Field (1979) - (essay)

﻿ 2. Yve-Alain Bois & Rosalind Krauss – Formless: A User’s Guide (1997)

3. Isabelle Graw, Daniel Birnbaum, and Nikolaus Hirsch (eds.) – Thinking Through Painting: Reflexivity and Agency Beyond the Canvas (2012)

4. Isabelle Graw – The Love of Painting: Genealogy of a Success Medium (2018)

5. Painting: Documents of Contemporary Art, edited by Terry R. Myers (2011) ⭐

﻿ Final Thoughts

Paris Rentrée 2025: Must-See Exhibitions Before Paris Art Basel

Monumental forms, material innovation, retrospective scale, and the painterly expanded—how Paris galleries are shaping the art landscape ahead of Art Basel.

Paris Rentrée 2025: 8 Exhibitions to See Ahead of Paris Art Basel

1. Traditional Painting in Transition

2. A Gallery-Scale Retrospective with Depth

3. Material Expansion of Painting

4. Rediscovered Voices & Hybrid Imaginaries

5. Painterly Sculpture and New Platforms for Paris

6. Subterranean Worlds and Ecological Imaginaries

7. Concepts Made Visible Through Material

8. The Monument Reconsidered

What Paris Offers in the Expanded Art World

Philemona Williamson’s Lopsided at Semiose Paris: Childhood, Memory, and Resistance on Canvas

In her new Paris exhibition at Semiose Gallery, Philemona Williamson reimagines childhood as allegory, layering memory, play, and defiance in vivid paintings.

The Pull of “Lopsided”

Childhood as Resistance

Brushwork, Transparency, and the Unfinished

In Dialogue with Art History

Why Lopsided Matters in Paris Now

Exhibition Information

About the Artist

RCA MA Painting: An Honest Review From a 2025 Graduate

A full breakdown of my experience in the Royal College of Art’s Painting MA—what I learned, how the course is structured, and tips for making the most of it.

II. 02:30h — Urban Combat

III. 03:30h — Extraction

On the Body of a City

Picasso's Guernica & Drona's Caracas

1. Rosalind Krauss – Sculpture in the Expanded Field (1979) - (essay)

2. Yve-Alain Bois & Rosalind Krauss – Formless: A User’s Guide (1997)

Final Thoughts