BLAST WALL
13 May – 19 June 2021
The Foundry Gallery, Old Church Street, London SW3
27 – 30 August and selected dates September 2021
the Bunker Gallery, Old Park Road, St. Lawrence, IOW
‘That Lisa Traxler immersed herself in her Blast Wall project during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdowns of this and last year is significant, when many of us suddenly had the time to pause and contemplate the substance of our lives in new ways. Lisa has discovered rich connections with her home and family history which has inspired and forged her new body of work. Looking back to the past is essentially a Romantic notion for artists; a central tenet of the movement was that humanity has lost its way and that life and morals were superior in olden times. The question for Romantics was always how to articulate such ideas in art.
Interestingly and unusually, Lisa’s pictorial language of geometric abstract shapes based upon constructive architecture, is paradoxically the traditional antipathy of Romantic art.
The mathematical and rational Systems Group of Malcolm Hughes and Jeffrey Steele which flourished in the early 1970s was for example completely devoid of sentiment. Lisa does not employ expressive brushwork and the distinctive motifs that we know as Romantic. How is she able to convey her message then? It is without doubt her strong and innate sense of aesthetics and subtle, intuitive use of form and colour that gives the viewer multiple layers of sensation and emotive meaning. In this respect, Lisa’s Blast Wall forges new ground and is to be celebrated.’
Foreword by Tim Craven 2021
Former Curator, Southampton City Art Gallery
Artist, Curator, Lecturer
Images Tessa Newmark