STATEMENT

My work is rooted in empathy. It is a reflection of who I am and where I come from. My Colombian homeland located in the tropics is home to mountains and oceans, llanos and rainforests, cities and a diverse population. Ours is a history of change and growth, and frequent violence. Coming to terms with this reality leads the search for truth through art.

The imagery is based on the environment, and comes from a preoccupation with language as it describes memory. As in poetry, there is a shorthand of expression that creates mulitple layers of meaning and understanding. Like memory, the intent is the articulation of a space that encompasses experience, the lived life. Emotional transparency is paramount in the work. Visual language is tangible interpretation and carries the weight of experience.

I use light to obscure and reveal, to construct and rebuild reality both real and imaginary, and to shorten the distance between the artist and the viewer. Pushing the elements to magnify meaning, with paint or technology, every medium is an extension of the self, a tool in understanding the challenges and the accomplishments in life. This is the unique power of art.

Mark-making, whatever the medium, is a way of moving backwards and forward in time and in space. It is here that the fragility of our existence becomes clear, and here that we experience the epiphany of the encounter with beauty.

Lorenza Panero, 2023

EUROPA

Oil and acrylic on canvas, 2022

42.5 x 39 inches