The Eye of the River: Textile Paintings by Lola Lefrançois
January 22 @ 12:00 pm - February 22 @ 5:00 pm
Images:
Top: Detail, Rainbow Lorikeet, 160 x 60 inches, Oil paint and acrylic on fabric
Right: Was the Ugly Duckling Ever a Swan?, 11 x 17 inches, Oil paint and acrylic on fabric
Artist’s Statement
Inspired by the utopian quality of Western landscape paintings, my work exposes the stark contrast between these idyllic scenes and the contemporary treatment of nature and animals. Drawing from my childhood in Auroville, India—a commune founded on utopian ideals of perfect humanity—I explore the alluring facade of a perfect place that ultimately reveals humanity’s capacity for violence.
I grew up in Auroville, an experimental township in India devoted to human unity, founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa (“the Mother”) and designed by architect Roger Anger. Living there for 8 years, I attended Transition School, where my education focused on our connection with the surrounding environment, emphasizing notions of awareness and empathy. Leaving Auroville and traveling with my mother, I became fascinated by the contrasting reality behind the idealized image I grew up with.
My work is dedicated to questioning our traditional painting heritage, referencing and altering both landscape painting and classical interior décor imagery. I paint on used fabrics that have flower or plant pattern reminiscent of traditional bourgeois interiors. Staining and cutting these fabrics, I deliberately alter and disrupt their original visibility. Referencing movements like the Hudson River School and 18th- and 19th-century European landscape painting, I adapt my painting crafting fragmented and decaying landscapes. My landscapes are strange yet familiar, inviting viewers to lose themselves in this illusory sense of peace and calm. Here, the boundaries blur between pleasure and harm, beauty and destruction, challenging us to question how these notions coexist.
About the Artist
Lola Lefrançois is a French artist based in New York City. Inspired by her childhood in the commune of Auroville, India, she explores the intricate relationship between humanity, nature, and violence. In 2019, she completed her Bachelor of Studio Art at The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and her MFA in 2023 at the City College of New York. Since then, she has actively participated in residency programs such as The Canopy Program, ChaNorth, Monson Arts, the NARS Foundation Program (2024), and The Rockella Residency Program (2023).
Lola has showcased her work in several exhibitions in New York City and France. Her recent and upcoming solo exhibitions include “The Eye of the River” at Lake George, NY (2025), “A Parakeet’s Whisper?” at One-Eyed Studios, NY (2023), and “Fish Don’t Die With Their Eyes Closed” at C&G Gallery, City College of New York, NY (2023). Her group exhibitions include “Bodiless Body” at the NARS Foundation (2024), “What We Did Last Summer” at C&G Gallery, NY (2022), and Les ÉVAsions des Arts (“The Escape of the Arts”) in Villy en Auxois, France (2020). She was awarded the 1st Prize of The Kenza Scholarship for the Arts in 2021.
Courthouse Gallery
1 Lower Amherst Street
Lake George, NY 12845
518-668-2616
Hours: Wednesday – Friday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM Saturday: 12:00 – 4:00 PM
For exhibition information or to schedule a visit
outside of gallery hours please contact
June Waters, Director of Exhibitions june@lakegeorgearts.org 518-668-2616
Thank you to our exhibition sponsors!
