Lucy Farley’s artistic practice revolves around the exploration of landscape, the human figure, and still life through a process of pictorial deconstruction and rearrangement. She focuses on personal connections to places, either familiar or those with significant history, creating art that is deeply intertwined with time, memory, and the emotional undercurrents that shape how we experience places.
Central to her practice is drawing, which she uses as a foundational tool. Her drawings evolve, transforming into different media such as painting and printmaking, creating new abstract languages with each iteration. Through repeated drawing and documentation, Farley recontextualizes her subject matter, exploring the spirit of places and objects, as well as the human condition in relation to them. She enjoys delving into the tension between the real and the illusory, often working on-site for long periods to absorb the environment and incorporate remembered forms into her work.
Farley draws significant inspiration from the interplay between drawing and sculpture, particularly the challenge of translating three-dimensional images into two-dimensional representations. Her influences include American Abstract Expressionists, whose physical approach to painting resonates with her, and Scandinavian painters like Munch, Asger Jorn, and Per Kirkeby, whose romanticism and deep connection to landscape evoke a strong emotional response in Farley’s own work. Additionally, the melancholic and nostalgic elements of the English neo-romantic painters, particularly Keith Vaughan, provide further layers of influence that shape the way she approaches her subjects.
