LORRAINE HOUSTON – PIVOTAL

SIXTEEN GALLERY |29 OCTOBER – 4 NOVEMBER

LORRAINE HOUSTON PRESENTS PIVOTAL

Pivotal brings together two decades of paintings by Lorraine Houston, created in her Lansdown studio. Winner of the Sixteen Gallery Open Call 2025, Lorraine presents this comprehensive body of work as her prize-winning solo exhibition, exploring how the studio space itself serves as an evolving backdrop where direct observation and imagined narrative meet.

The works span key shifts in her practice. Dynamic figurative pieces showcase expressive, challenging poses inspired by years of life drawing. Other paintings capture the isolation of pandemic lockdowns, transforming screen reflections, Zoom calls, and text messages into surprising visual sources. In contrast, vibrant works celebrate the liberation of post-lockdown life, reflecting joyful memories of travel and gathering. Her most recent paintings mark a fresh direction, embracing fluid techniques and rich color choices that grant the artist greater physical freedom on the canvas.

THE EXHIBITION

"This exhibition consists of paintings and drawings created over the past 20 years in my  sanctuary, which is my studio  at Lansdown industrial estate and extreme poses life drawing at Pegasus art in Stroud. Pivotal paintings which have often been experimental emerge from a change in direction others from an unexpected discovery of of a moment when a new possibility reveals itself

It all starts from within the studio space where seemingly mundane surfaces and observations of my surroundings merge with playful images of flowers, which dance across the canvas. The works reflect the quiet solitude and relationship between myself and my surroundings where imagination can flow.

Alongside this my drawings of extreme poses inspired a series of paintings of the human figure in imaginary spaces in unusual, exaggerated and challenging poses. I am interested in balance, tension and the expressive qualities of the figure rather than focusing on anatomical accuracy. The figure becomes a means of exploring emotion, energy and vulnerability.

The pandemic was a significant time for my imagination to refocus to a more meditative approach where colours, memories and the dependance on technology predominated as sources of inspiration. The paintings grew out of the experience of the pandemic and the isolation it brought. My more recent work is more abstract in appearance because the spinal condition I live with has meant changes to the way I paint. 

I can no longer spend long periods overworking and controlling every detail. I have developed a  more fluid use of paint which is often seen in earlier paintings allowing the paint to move merge and respond by itself. This has introduced a new freedom into my practice, where chance , movement and instinct become part of the creative process. What began as a necessity has become of new way of seeing and painting.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Lorraine paints in her studio in Cheltenham. Her diverse body of work consists of narratives and visual phenomena with a strong spacial element. She says "the dialogue between myself and the painting is the most important part of the process."

She has a fine art B.A in sculpture and Ceramics from Portsmouth and an M.A Art Education from Birmingham. She taught in secondary education for over twenty years and then adult classes in the Cotswolds and Gloucester for over ten years. Since retiring she has exhibited in open studio events, the RWA Bristol, Mall Galleries London, Hadfield Fine Art, Broadway Arts and has work in several private collections both in the uk and overseas.