Lorraine M. Glessner

Lorraine M. Glessner
Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, USA

STATEMENT

Using landscape as inspiration, connection, and metaphor, my interest is in the exploration of human interaction and psyche—the navigation of the line between what is hidden and revealed to others. Real and imagined stories exploring inner demons, desires, and vulnerabilities of the human mind fuel my work. The consequence of revealing what is hidden can be both a dream and a nightmare, causing a chain reaction gamut of emotions ranging from anguish to exhilaration. The amalgamation of these intense emotions and the simultaneous existence of danger and seduction within the earth and the body is what I investigate through my work.

Through the process of layering, scraping, and excavating layers of encaustic and acrylic paint, I replicate nature’s destructive power as well as its regenerative abilities. Collaged fragments of found images act as another form of paint, as well as trigger memory and create personal connections. Through the mark-making and painting process, the actual storied histories of the combined images are interwoven with my own personal experiences and imaginings about their history. As the painted and collaged layers accumulate, abstracted patterns begin to fuse, splinter, and regenerate, acting as a metaphor for the volatility and vulnerability found in the relationships between earth and humankind and between humans themselves.

BIO

Lorraine M. Glessner is a former Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art, a workshop instructor, and an award-winning artist. In 2024, she founded Mark-Making as Practice Drawing Group and the “It Begins with a Mark” series of mark-making lectures. Glessner’s love of surface, pattern, mark-making, and image has led her to combine disparate materials and processes in her work such as silk, wood, wax, pyrography, and rust. She has a diverse art background with skills that include painting, sculpture, photography, and digital imaging. Recent professional achievements include curating “With Wax: Materiality & Mixed Media in Encaustic” at Chester County Art Association in West Chester, Pennsylvania, a Grand Prize Award from the show “(re)Building”, Atlantic Gallery, New York, New York, and a recently appointed position as Interim President of the Board of Directors of Collage Artists of America and Core Artist Instructor at R&F Paints. Her work is included in many mixed media and encaustic books including, Encaustic Art in the 21st Century by Ashley Rooney and Nuance, a curated book by artist Michelle Stuart. Glessner frequently lectures and participates on academic panels at various conferences including The International Encaustic Conference, Celtic Convergence, SECAC, and The College Art Association Annual Conference. Her work is exhibited locally and nationally in galleries, museums, craft centers, universities, Fine Art Shows, and more. Glessner brings to her teaching a strong interdisciplinary approach, mixed with a balance of concept, process, experimentation, and discovery.

ARTIST CONTACT

EMAIL | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

IMAGES