World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 460 - Lisa van Noorden

World Fine Art Professionals and their Key-Pieces, 460 – Lisa van Noorden
In the Art Center Schiedam, the KunstWerkt foundation had organized an exhibition with new members under the title New Impulse (Nieuwe Impuls). I saw beautiful work by Lisa van Noorden there. Although her performances looked beautiful, there was also something sharp in them. She came to the Gallery to tell us more about it.
Her latest work focuses on natural forms, flowers, plants, animals and insects, she says. “It is a representation of my personal vision of beauty, but also of the power and ferocity in the natural form.”

Purple calyxes
I see purple calyxes, the flower is called Morning Glory. And if I look closely, there are also horns and a sharp metal strip through it. “You see those flowers in Spain, among other places, often in the most impossible places. Between the concrete, along a highway. “What is a flower like that doing here?” I wondered. The flower turned out to have mind-altering properties. The seeds contain the psychoactive substance LSA, the counterpart of LSD, but with less intense effects. I intertwine the horns of goats and bulls through the flowers, as a sign that it is not just about beauty. It disrupts the idyllic. There is aggression in the form, which is intrusive.”
The flower, with its intrinsic survival instincts, symbolizes nature’s power to thrive even under the most challenging conditions, she says. “The bull and goat horns, which also serve as symbols of survival, embody the toughness and determination of animals that adapt to their environment, and/or persist despite ‘cultural consumption’. The Morning Glory with its hallucinogenic properties adds a layer of complexity to the work. The relationship between nature and human perception is explored, blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination.”

White lilies
It is even more visible in the work next to it with white lilies. Snakes are hidden among those lilies. “They have a sickly smell that tempts you to come closer. The lily represents innocence, but in addition to those snakes you also see sharply curved metal. You can injure yourself. I like snakes and reptiles. They have beauty, but also mean danger. The snake is also a symbol of shaking off the old and welcoming the new. Those are nice contrasts for me.”
Lisa van Noorden’s work is an exploration of contrasts and dualities. To consider the paradoxical nature of this composition – the seductive scent of the lilies, which attracts and invites closer exploration, versus the threat of the hidden snakes and sharply curved metal, which warn of potential danger and injury.

“The snakes themselves are presented as more than just symbols of danger; they also embody the powerful symbolism of transformation and renewal. As representations of shedding the old and welcoming the new, they challenge the viewer to consider the complex nature of change and growth.
By bringing together these different elements – the innocence of the lily, the threat of the snakes and the potential for transformation – I create a layered experience that invites reflection on the subtle but powerful contradictions in life.”

Sawing into pieces
They are complex constructions. She sent the print of the drawing to a printer who printed it on dibond. As soon as the dibond print arrived, she saw the work into pieces and placed it in a new configuration. “I put it together sloppily. It is a rough disruption, but also very nice to use a saw to go through work that has been made with intense attention. And meditative.”
Lisa’s work is always about survival and survival strategy
That was already the theme before she started this nature work. Before this she made many portraits. These were often masks, with which people protected themselves. A psychological tool to cope with the world.
“In it, I talked about the complexity of human identity and the diverse ways in which individuals protect themselves and adapt to challenging environments. From starlets who use their sexual attraction to survive in a vicious environment to child soldiers who use their weapons to survive.”
With this new collection, her attention shifts from humans to nature: animals, plants and flowers, which, just like humans, are constantly evolving in their survival strategy.
We walk to a work with a tiger and a panther on it, climbing down a tree with lianas, on the way to prey. Lisa: “The work is a look at the eternal struggle for survival, a tiger and a panther fighting their way in pursuit of prey, confronting the viewer with the exciting question: who will triumph? Behind these warring predators is an orchid, a sign of resilience and adaptability. The work is about the ‘Survival of the Toughest’.

Does Lisa have a key work?
She has. “These work. These are the first works from the new collection. I have many different collections, all of those collections have a key work. I made the decision to go in a different direction and use a new technique. The first works in this nature series have an open-mindedness, the energy is there.”

Essentially a draftsman
Lisa has been an artist since she graduated (1990) from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. “I have always continued to make art in all kinds of different forms and variations. Mostly two-dimensional, essentially I am a draftsman. I have made forays into light art (including at the Amsterdam Light Festival) and three-dimensional work: objects.”
She not only works as an artist, but also provides training in the field of creativity. “With the aim that people will think more original and autonomously and use more vision, especially in marketing and communication.”
She feels at home in the art and cultural world. That is why she became a member of KunstWerkt again. “I want to make art that matters. That is why my artistry is constantly deepening.”
Images
1) Horns&Glory 2) Lillies&Serpents, 3) Panther&Tiger descending 2, 4) Lisa van Noorden expo wall1, 5) Grip of confusion, 6) Hyacinths&Snakes, 7) portrait Lisa van Noorden

 

https://lisavannoorden.nl/
https://www.instagram.com/lisa.van.noorden/
https://stichtingkunstwerkt.nl/
https://ifthenisnow.eu/nl/verhalen/de-wereld-van-de-rotterdamse-kunstenaar-66-lisa-van-noorden

Have a good week,