Artist Statement





My work lies in the realm of sanctuary. More than a safe space, sanctuary is an area where safety might exist. The concept of landscape becomes a framework for an emotional experience. Spatial imagery affects us viscerally, from a gut level of identity. My life has led me to understand and accept violent change as a natural force. Both vulnerability and survival are in constant play.


Light and color reference our collective knowledge and private experiences: our spaces and our surroundings tell us who we are. In installations detailing narratives of our history as a species on the planet, in paintings of emotionally charged intensity, and in luminography and more forms of experimental photography, I build worlds that move between the intimate and the social, between personal belief and the shared lexicon.


My work is a reflection on identity and strength and the confrontation of permanence with rapid, all-encompassing change. By presenting varied possible encounters with the work, the audience is made conscious of its relation to both the private and the public in their own worlds. It is an affirmation of our humanity.


Lorenza Panero, 2025



EUROPA

Oil and acrylic on canvas, 2022

42.5 x 39 inches