Lorraine Loots – #ANTSinPARIS in Cape Town
From the 7th to the 20th of April, we will be hosting South African artist, Lorraine Loots with her latest collection #ANTSinPARIS in Cape Town.
For the first time in seven years, Lorraine Loots brings her most recent body of work to South African soil, fresh from Paris. The exhibition aims to offer locals an opportunity to enjoy a little piece of Paris in their very own city.
Having recently been invited to showcase her work alongside some of the world’s greatest miniaturists at Galerie Joseph in Le Marais, Paris, Lorraine’s latest body of work – The Paris Collection – is a celebration of this enigmatic city in her signature miniature style. From tiny watercolour macarons and croissants to the iconic Eiffel Tower and Pont Neuf, The Paris Collection celebrates the beloved city’s little quirks and favourite corners.
Lorraine’s art, grounded in her sentimentality and sensitivity to her surroundings, is inspired by the notion of synergizing nostalgia, sentiment, and assigned meaning to create heirloom artworks.
Early on, nostalgia became a strong theme in her life and the idea of specific dates holding personal significance took on new meaning with the loss of both her brothers (in separate incidents) at the ages of 15. With this, the idea of dates as significant markers became central to her; as did the idea of physically marking each day.
Lorraine’s 365 projects were an answer to this drive (or catharsis for the grief). At the same time, Lorraine attributes the compulsiveness of her initial daily painting projects to her 90-year-old aunt (a poet and artist), who has – since the age of 11 – been committed to writing a diary entry every single day of her life. In addition to this compulsive nature, she inherited a strong perfectionistic streak from both parents, and her attention to detail can be all-encompassing at times. Lorraine’s work is a manifestation of these qualities: a dedication to life’s significant moments; yet at the same time a celebration of the mundane details of the everyday.
Despite the illustrious career that followed, Lorraine never planned to become an artist. She dropped art as a subject in high school, stopped painting indefinitely after finishing Art School (Stellenbosch University, 2010), and once again decided not to choose art as a career after completing two post-graduate courses.
Yet, her side project – 365 Paintings for Ants – unexpectedly turned into a full-blown occupation. In this series, she set out to paint a miniature every day for an entire year, allowing people to “book” certain dates and thus own the paintings created on these days.
Lorraine has since had a series of international exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, London, and of course, Paris. In addition, Lorraine’s work has been featured on CNN, The Huffington Post, The Daily Mail, Colossal, Buzzfeed and Gizmodo among many others.
Lorraine was born in Bloemfontein and currently lives in Cape Town with her husband, Mark, and five-year-old son, Felix. Having completed her BA degree in Visual Communications at Stellenbosch University in 2008, her MA in Film and Media at the University of Cape Town in 2011, and in 2012 obtained a diploma in Business Acumen for Artists at the UCT School of Business.
Join us for the Opening Night of #ANTSinPARIS in Cape Town on the 7th of April from 6 – 8:30 pm at Artist Admin on Roeland Street, Gardens, Cape Town.
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More on Lorraine Loots
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Opening Night
Thursday, 7 April 2022
18h00 – 20h30
COVID restrictions in place
Duration
7 – 20 April 2022
10h00 – 16h00
Mondays – Fridays
Exclusive Viewing: Saturday 16 April 2022, 09h00 – 12h00
Category:
Exhibitions & ToursDate:
March 25, 2022
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