For her solo exhibition at PAPER, Lisa Denyer presents a new series of abstract paintings. This exhibition looks at how signs and symbols are reinterpreted and given new meaning through painting. The physical attributes of texture and weight are juxtaposed against perceptions of visual depth, layering and the illusionistic qualities of the picture plane. Tensions are created, and polarities of colour explored on a given surface.

Much of the work in the exhibition was made at Studios ID on Genslerstraße in Berlin, where Lisa Denyer lived and worked for two years. Some have been made since her return to the UK.


Her time in Berlin dramatically altered the trajectory of the work as aspects of the city began to infiltrate the paintings; exhibitions she saw, the conversations with other artists, the architecture, and the feel of the city all permeated the work. Each piece creates a new interpretation of these perceptions through an abstract language, opening up new lines of enquiry in Denyer’s practice.


This exhibition considers the importance of being present in a particular moment in time. During the painting process, the outcome is not fixed but mutable, subject to change until the penultimate moments. Even when the work has arrived at a situation which feels resolved, its meaning remains open as the viewer brings their own set of experiences and ideas to a visual dialogue.


The work retains an autonomous existence, its own visual identity which continues to develop and adapt according to the environment that surrounds it.

Trove
acrylic and collage on panel
15x10cm
2018
SOLD

Wrench
acrylic, collage and filler on plywood
41x33cm
2018

Pushgo
acrylic and collage on plywood
45x63cm
2018

K
acrylic, clay, collage, filler, gouache, chalkboard paint and panel,
19x12x9cm
2018

Hazard
acrylic, collage, chalkboard paint and filler on panel,
24x18cm
2018

Stück
acrylic, collage and filler on panel,
18x24cm
2018

Catapult
acrylic, filler, collage and clay
21x13x11cm
2018

Planes
Acrylic & Emulsion on Sandpaper
2019

Reset
Acrylic, collage, tile, filler, emulsion and chalkboard paint on found plywood
2019

Installation Views
About Lisa Denyer

Lisa Denyer graduated from Coventry University in 2009 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art. In 2010 she received second prize in the Gilchrist Fisher Award, held at Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London. In 2015 she received first prize in the PS Mirabel Open. Solo presentations include Geode at South Square Gallery, Bradford 2014, Paintings as Objects at PS Mirabel, Manchester 2016, Galerie Martin Mertens, Berlin 2017, and A Piece of Magic at Volume Gallery, Berlin 2018. Other exhibitions include About Painting at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester 2014, Contemporary British Abstraction at SE9 Container Gallery, London 2015, Sobre fragmentos y materia (two person show) at Kir Royal, Madrid 2017, Contemporary Masters from Britain at Yantai Art Museum, China 2017, and PaintLounge at Kühlhaus, Berlin. In 2018, Lisa was nominated for the Kleinwort Hambros Prize.