Biography

Artists Satement.

““My work explores themes of love and loss, of balance and the struggle to maintain them--and to regain them once lost.

Using symbolism and a personal iconography,  I explore issues surrounding disrupted equilibrium from love and loss, whether the loss is of a partner, spouse, parents, friend, a sense or faculty, or a way of life. How do we strive to maintain that balance without losing ourselves to the struggle?

Since losing my sight I can no longer work in the way I once did. Drawing has allowed me to gradually rediscover a directness of expression, using line and wash to help me navigate my reduced vision and explore my emotional landscape. As these drawings become paintings I hope to continue this exploration.

I work mostly from my imagination, using references only sparingly. I work and rework themes until I can express my feelings with a fluidity that embodies the emotions I am trying to explore.

My paintings are an expression of a feeling or an idea but they are also very much an exploration,  a record of a conversation. Once the work is completed and I step away, I hope that conversation continues with the viewer and in directions over which I have no say and possibly in ways I would never imagine.

Drawing inspiration from 16th- and 17th-century Mannerist and Baroque artists, I feel my work loosely comes under the umbrella of Contemporary Baroque.”

Artists Bio

Laurence Porter is an Irish artist based in Southern France.

Laurence lost his sight at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. The Global situation meant it was the following year before surgeons managed to restore sufficient sight in one eye for him to resume working. He has since been learning to adapt his working practice to his new circumstances.

Since leaving The West Surrey College of Art and Design in 1980 Laurence has worked as an artist and illustrator. His work is in public and private collections as well as many books, magazines and advertisements from all over the World.