Paintings Give Lorna Robertson Somewhere to Go
Annabel Downes, Ocula
July 2024
Every morning, Lorna Robertson swims in the Arlington baths in Glasgow. After plugging in her earphones (David Bowie, Sinéad O’Connor, Erik Satie, Claude Debussy), she’ll head to the studio, clean her brushes, and start painting.
Hers are paintings with no clear certainties, firm beginnings, or endings. Rather, her soft-hued oil and watercolour combinations curdle across the canvas. Robertson’s work has over time been informed by the solidity of Paula Modersohn-Becker, the bold inventiveness of Pablo Picasso and Max Beckmann, the gentle lyricism of Gwen John and David Jones, the dreamlike qualities of Odilon Redon and Kai Althoff, and the musicality of Alan Davie and Chaïm Soutine.
In her eponymous London debut at Alison Jacques (28 June–3 August 2024), Robertson’s fantastical narratives take centre stage. The paintings on show are a corrugation of mark-making upon clippings of vintage magazines and scraps of textiles, while the smaller works on paper—some framed, others not—offer quiet impressions into her intuitive language.
Ocula met with Robertson to discuss her love of Modersohn-Becker, the importance of swimming in her life, and her most recent body of work. […]