Lily Ludlow
Lily Ludlow (b. 1970, Los Angeles, CA) makes paintings that are a mixture of figuration and machine-like curvilinear shapes that either fit together comfortably or jostle against each other and the confines of the painting’s boundaries.
The arabesques and tender grace notes allude to dance; the isolation of a moment in time or a focus on specific gesture signify Ludlow’s deeply felt reality. Heavily worked, each piece becomes a tool for insight and understanding as the painter refines the position of a leg or stylized torso, gradually moving towards a sense of activated stasis.
Artist: Studio
"I like to study the movement of things. If I draw, I like the way a line curves; if I’m making a piece of clothing, it’s about the way it will drape or move."
Artworks
Lily Ludlow,
Deirdre,
2024,
Acrylic and chalk on canvas,
40 × 40 in (101.6 × 101.6 cm)
Lily Ludlow,
Mitte and Henry,
2024,
Acrylic and chalk on canvas,
12 × 10 in (30.48 × 25.4 cm)
Lily Ludlow,
The Calliopes,
2023,
30 × 24 in (76.2 × 60.96 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Crocus,
2023,
12 × 9 in (30.48 × 22.86 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper
Lily Ludlow,
Daphne,
2023,
12 × 9 in (30.48 × 22.86 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Anemone,
2023,
12 × 9 in (30.48 × 22.86 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Witnesses,
2019,
40 × 40 in (101.6 × 101.6 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Fleur Jaune,
2019,
27 × 20 in (68.58 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas over panel
Lily Ludlow,
Nanette,
2018,
27 ½ × 20 in (69.85 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Dicentra Spectabilis,
2018,
27 ½ × 20 in (69.85 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2018,
27 ½ × 20 in (69.85 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Rebecca,
2017,
27 × 29 in (68.58 × 73.66 cm)
Acrylic on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Rebekah,
2017,
27 × 20 in (68.58 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Rebeca,
2017,
27 × 20 in (68.58 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2016,
48 × 40 in (121.92 × 101.60 cm)
Acrylic, chalk, and graphite on panel
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2014,
8 × 10 in (20.32 × 25.4 cm)
Acrylic on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled 7,
2011,
22 × 28 in (55.88 × 71.12 cm)
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2011,
16 × 20 in (40.64 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Faint Order of Sisters,
2010,
12 × 16 in (30.48 × 40.64 cm)
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Bettina,
2009,
20 × 16 in (50.80 × 40.64 cm)
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Inextricable,
2010,
9 × 12 in (22.86 × 30.48 cm)
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
Lily Ludlow,
Lavender,
2009,
18 × 14 in (45.72 × 35.56 cm)
Acrylic and graphite on Canvas
Lily Ludlow,
None of Us Could Bear to Look,
2009,
20 × 16 in (50.8 × 40.64 cm)
Graphite, gesso and pencil on canvas
Installation Views
Installation view, Lily Ludlow, CANADA, 2017
Exhibitions
Press
"Make Painting Great Again." The New Yorker June 29, 2016
Phil Grauer "Lily Ludlow Interview by Phil Grauer." The Journal October 13, 2013
Lucy Madison "Circle of Friends." Interview Magazine December 10, 2010
Lauren Cross "Profile: Open Intimacy." Tokion October 30, 2009
Vogue Greece May, 2009
Roberta Smith "Lily Ludlow and Allen Cordell: "Sowing Circle"." The New York Times January 9, 2009
"Artist Multiple." North Drive Press (NDP#5) January 1, 2009
Lucy Madison "Art Film by Lily Ludlow and Allen Cordenn." Interview Magazine December/January, 2008
Jonathan T.D. Neil "Lily Ludlow: Every Flinching Atom of Flesh Must Be Flayed." ArtReview June, 2007
"Lily Ludlow." Nylon June, 2007
Holland Cotter "Lily Ludlow." The New York Times May 4, 2007
Paper Magazine March, 2007
Christopher Spinelli "Fashion is an Art Victim." whitewall Fall, 2006
Jane Magazine 2006, January
Vouge December, 2005
Holland Cotter "Devendra Banhart, Lily Ludlow, Elena Pankova." The New York Times July 9, 2004
"Newyorkster." Nylon July, 2004
CV
b. 1970, Los Angeles, CA
Lives and works in Portchester, N
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019
New Paintings, CANADA, New York, NY
2017
Lily Ludlow, CANADA, New York, NY
2014
Pareidolia, CANADA, New York, NY
2012
Lily Ludlow, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
2011
Ten for Aidas, CANADA, New York, NY
2009
Lily Ludlow, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Athens, Greece
2008
Sowing Circle, CANADA, New York, NY
2007
Every Flinching Atom of Flesh Must Be Flayed, CANADA, New York, NY
2006
CSV, New York, NY
2004
The Somnus Collection 2005, CANADA, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023
Canada on Paper, CANADA, East Hampton, NY
Safe Space, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Athens, Greece
2021
The Thick Stream, CANADA, New York, NY
2019
CANADA b/w Drag City, Soccer Club Club, Chicago, IL
2018
Faces | People, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Athens, Greece
2017
To Speak of Trees, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
Drawing Island, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2016
Make Painting Great Again, CANADA, New York, NY
2015
Let’s Get Figurative, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York, NY
Calisthenics, curated by Matt Paweski, Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2014
Freezer Burn, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY
New Image Painting, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
De Re Gallery Grand Opening, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011
Free Soil, CANADA, New York, NY
2008
Part Two: Easy Times, Leo Koenig Gallery, New York, NY
2007
The Wrong Store, New York, NY
2006
The Perfect Man Show, White Columns, New York, NY
Mid-Life Crisis, Salander O’Reilly, New York, NY
2005
I Throw Herring To The Dog (Curator), CANADA, New York, NY
2004
Yesteryear, CANADA, New York, NY
Indigestible Correctness, Participant, New York, NY
2003
Two-Person Show with Stephen Elwood, CANADA, New York, NY