LORI STANFORD
Lori Stanford’s molten silhouettes and alternative personifications congregate on canvas to tell the tales of human interconnection, livelihood, and other complexities. Her color tones are diverse, ranging from sensitive pastels to vivid cools and anything else delicate, electric, or in between. Stanford has several collections of work that serve to express their own particular narrative. Crowd Identity poses colorful crowds of humanistic shapes to illuminate the value of diversity in a community; Landscape of My Subconscious pulls intuitively from Stanford’s inner mind to create thick, gestured abstractions of their influence; Racism in America utilizes emotive designs of oil paintings and mixed medias to investigate systemic racism in the country and how it’s actively contributed to and upheld; It’s Personal presents humanity’s familiar and unfamiliar interrelations in the suggested forms of people embracing, consoling, and simply, living life. “The polarization and animosity palpable in our society today, despite having a common enemy (Covid-19) to overcome, has directed me to focus on conveying empathy, human interconnectedness, and diversity through my work,” she says.
Stanford received her MD in Medicine from UCLA. She is a retired physician and presently, a full time artist. She practices her craft out of her home studio in Los Angeles, California. Besides oil on canvas, Stanford is also keen on creating mixed media art–specifically papier-mâché sculptures. Her other hobbies include gardening, hiking with family, and learning Portuguese.
LORI STANFORD ON
Human connection is at the root of my art. I am a medical doctor who has become an artist. Driven by the need to express and share thoughts and emotions through art, I began painting about fifteen years ago. The common element along my creative journey has been humanity. As a physician, I’m deeply concerned about people’s well-being, both physically and mentally. As an artist, I’m inspired to create socially relevant, authentic art and share it. Based in Los Angeles, I am exploring human identity through my abstract, figurative oil painting. Bold, saturated colors and organic shapes help me express my thoughts and feelings about humanity, the evolution of self, and how self relates to others. I like to work in series and usually spend nine months to a year on a particular topic. The interconnectedness of humans, each with their unique yet familiar story, is what has inspired my latest collection. While the focus of my work is oil on canvas, experimenting with other materials is something I enjoy. Reading, writing, and sketching are an integral part of my creative process and influence the painting that happens in the studio. Communicating thoughts through art is a primal human need for me, and that’s why sharing the work is essential. Art is communication. Whether it be a stand alone painting or an installation, my work is about providing the backdrop for a dialogue to occur. For
ORIGINAL LORI STANFORD ARTWORKS ON
