Crushed pigments, sand or glass powder, linseed oil… Lorraine Mahot works urgently, almost automatically, euphoric.
She paints interiors or scenes from her terrace, starting with what is immediately available, as she stays home in the evenings to avoid being swept into the nightlife of Saint Barthélemy. Outside, she paints views of the island, sometimes omitting her quirky characters— though there are still flying turtles.
How did she arrive at this surrealism, this complete deconstruction of linear perspective, making everything float, depicting people and objects from various angles, reducing them to flat planes and
contours? There are glimpses of Matisse, a touch of naïve art. Despite the storytelling or humor, the naive quality of some works, anyone familiar with the island can recognize the places Lorraine Mahot illustrates. Waves crash at the foot of a seaside cemetery, the swell splits in two before a small islet. Lorient, Tortue. The airport and its engine-powered birds are omnipresent too.
There is often no vanishing point in her paintings, as if one cannot, or does not want to, escape the island once it has its hold on you.
Born in France, Lorraine Mahot de la Querantonnais holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design and attended the Florence Academy of Art (Italy) and Ar.Co (Portugal). Over the past ten years, Lorraine's work has been featured in various group exhibitions in Europe. She currently lives and works in Lisbon and Saint Barth.
As featured in
