ARTIST STATEMENT
Studio Wall: The Colour of Pomegranates
Cinecity x Fabrica Gallery 2024 Drawing from Film.
The Gallery At Green and Stone
Private View.
Vanessa Lawrence works from observation and memory in response to the worlds of ballet, opera, circus arts, fashion & film. Her dynamic drawings brim with excitement and drama, evoking worlds of illusion and make believe, all seen with a keen and empathetic female gaze. Her work spotlights the skill and agency of predominantly female and non binary performance artists within her creative community, offering intimate vistas of these inspiring worlds and unfolding rich narratives of mythology & folklore present in performance arts.
Her process involves layers of observation in response to fleeting moments, captured in an attempt to sustain the visceral and sublime. Expressive markings suggest the traces of energy left behind by the performing body and explore the emotional topography performance engenders within us. Her drawings often explore joy as an act of resistance.
In an ever increasingly monitored and recorded world, her live drawings offer a counteractive presence. Live drawing sets an intention to capture a fleeting and captivating moment, producing work that feels celebratory, life affirming and brave.
Exhibitions, Prizes & Opportunities 2020-24
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Brighton Festival Artist in Residence May 2024 Live Drawing: Fabrica Gallery, Spiegeltent, Picturehouse.
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The Sussex Contemporary 2023 & 2024.
The Gallery at Green & Stone Summer Exhibition & Works on Paper 2023 2024. -
Tour Art Prize. Finalist & exhibition Figaro at Glyndebourne October 2022.(www.artuk.org) .
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Adventures In Apparel. London Fashion Week Exhibition 2022-23
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Waverton Art Prize 2022: Nominated.
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26 EYES: Bermondsey Project Space 19 - 23 APRIL 2022
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FIDA Fashion Illustration Drawing Award,Finalist 2020, 2021 & 2022.
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VIA Arts Prize Finalist 2020. I Can’t Breathe, Marcelino Sambé, Nine Stilled Moments, 2020.
Education
• Royal Drawing School Drawing Development Year 2021-22
• MA Fine Art. University of Brighton.1996-1998
• PGCE Art & Design, University of Brighton. 1995
• BA Fine Art Painting, University of Brighton. 1991-94
• Artist & Educator for Tate, National Gallery, Barbican Centre, V&A, Guildhall.
https://vanessalawrencearts.wixsite.com/arts
Studios X Studio 22
in collaboration with Artist Support Pledge.
Education
2021-2022
1996-1998
1991-1994
1995-1996
Exhibitions
2023-24
2022
2021
2020
Prizes & Awards
2022
2020-22
2020
Workshops & Events
2020- Present
1996 to present.
2020 to present.
Royal Drawing School
University of Brighton
University of Brighton
University of Brighton
The Royal Drawing School is one of only a few institutions in the world offering in-depth, quality tuition in drawing from observation.
26 Eyes: Drawing Development Year 2021-22 Bermondsey Project Space Exhibition.
MA Fine Art,
PGCE Art & Design,
BA Fine Art Painting,
Green & Stone, Works on paper.
January-February 2024.
January-February 2025.
The Fashioned Body: The Trampery, London. 9th December 2023- 12th March 2024.
Platforms Project, Athens, Greece. 2023, 2024.
The Sussex Contemporary: Selected Artist
2023. 2024
Green & Stone Summer Exhibition: Aerial, pastel on paper, (London)
Tour Art Prize & In Disguise, Glyndebourne Opera House, Sussex, with three exhibited works acquired by Glyndebourne. The works can be seen via Artuk.com.
26 EYES: Bermondsey Project Space
Graduates of the Drawing Development Year
Royal Drawing School 2021/22
19 - 23 APRIL 2022
https://project-space.london/26-eyes
Show Me Love, Lido Gallery , Margate.
The FIDA x IMM Summer Fashion Arts Exhibition Miami 2021
Life On Venus, Exhibition at The Tub, Hackney, London. Auction by The Auction Collective.
https://theauctioncollective.com/auctions/life-on-venus-ii-the-human-timed-auction/,
VIA Arts Prize Finalist 2020.
I Can’t Breathe, Marcelino Sambé, Nine Stilled Moments, 2020. Charcoal on paper.
The Tour Art Prize; Glyndebourne.
Waverton Art Prize, Long listed.
FIDA Fashion Illustration Drawing Award (nominated)2022,
Finalist 2021
Finalist 2020,
FIDAxCeline Award 2020: Finalist.
VIA Arts Prize Finalist 2020.
I Can’t Breathe, Marcelino Sambé, Nine Stilled Moments, 2020. Charcoal on paper.
The Comedy Women In Print Prize 2020 @cwipprize As the first lockdown unfolded, my autobiographical, graphic medicine genre, graphic narrative, about my postpartum cancer diagnosis, The C Word, was long-listed by the UKs only comedy novel prize for women, run by celebrated comedienne & author Helen Lederer.
Guildhall School: Production Arts BA
Drawing Performance Workshop.
Trinity Laban Dance Project: Drawing live postgraduate performance.
London Fashion Week: Invited artist.
Miss England: Invited artist.
Artist & Educator (PGCE) for clients Tate, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Barbican Centre, V&A, English Heritage, Guildhall School London.
Creator of bespoke workshop sessions for community groups for arts festivals and community events, recent projects include Dragon Cafe in the City (Mental Fight Club).
Graphic Narrative Conferences & Events:
Royal Drawing School
Laydeez Do Comics
Graphic Medicine
Comics Activism Feminism Conference,
University Gothenburg, Sweden.
Drawing Lockdown II
Drawing Projects UK
Drawing is Free
Royal Drawing School Alumni Interview
https://www.royaldrawingschool.org/blog/graphic-narratives-bring-drawing-and-text-together/
The Lockdown Lowdown: Graphic Narratives for Viral Times. 1 & 2
Women and Covid, A Gendered Pandemic.
https://distantconnections.co.uk/about-us
Finding Our Future 2022 (Distant Connections)