Artist Profile: Lisa Pevaroff

Lisa Pevaroff has always found nature to be the most exciting and intriguing of inspirations. You can see this in all her work, and it is an idea that runs through everything she does – nature is all-powerful, and it is just as magical and beautiful as you want it to be. Whatever you see in nature is reflected back at you.

Lisa Pevaroff graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1983 and initially moved to New York in order to pursue a career in textile design. But this was not where her heart was; it might have made financial sense, but would it have brought her joy? The answer is probably not. Not entirely, anyway. Although the artistic side of things would have been enjoyable, the commercial aspect was just not for her. So instead, she enrolled in the New York Studio School where she could learn as much as possible about her true passion; painting.

This passion only grew after the birth of her children since she was able to use her painting talent to chronicle her daughters’ lives.

Medium

Painting, clearly, is very important to Pevaroff, and she has never stopped painting throughout her life. However, the method of painting has certainly changed over the years, and it was when she discovered encaustic painting that her art really grew into something unique.

Encaustic painting involves combining paint and hot wax to create shapes and textures on canvas. To Pevaroff, it was like painting in dreams, and the layers of light and color were astonishingly beautiful. What’s truly different about encaustic painting is that it can be manipulated as need be. The wax doesn’t harden right away, and so objects can be added and encased within the colors, and even carvings can be made within the shapes. With more layers added on top, it is as though these additions are secret treasures that not everyone will get to see. It takes patience, curiosity, and a keen eye to see what Pevaroff truly meant to create.

Themes

The themes in Lisa Pevaroff’s work are, naturally, nature-inspired. She has always wanted to add as much beauty to the world as possible, and it is with this in mind that, even if some of her work is sometimes darker in nature at times, this theme runs throughout. Whether she is painting, creating a collage, making a sculpture or artistic object, or designing jewelry, nature plays an integral part in it all.

Influences

The influences in Lisa Pevaroff’s life are perhaps the most striking feature of her life and work. Again, nature is a big influence on everything she does, and it will always be at the heart of any piece she makes. In particular, it is the landscape itself that appeals and helps call to mind some compelling images that she can’t help but recreate in her work, no matter what medium it happens to be that she is working in at that time.

In many of her pieces, Pevaroff also strives to include the feminine. With nature being such a big reason for her work to exist, this makes sense; after all, Mother Nature herself cannot be ignored. However, Lisa Pevaroff feels that it was when her first daughter was born that she was truly able to come into her own as an artist. Knowing who she is as a mother was able to shape who she was as an artist and vice versa.

In a surprising addition to the incredible list of influences that inspire Pevaroff in her work, gemstones feature heavily. She feels that they are magical, or at least hold magical properties, and the fact that they can be used to personalize any piece of art, especially, perhaps, the jewelry she makes, is exceptional. Every gemstone not only has a deep and abiding connection with the earth, but also has its own unique significance. No matter what meaning you want to imbue a piece of art with, a gemstone will allow it to happen and make it look stunning at the same time. Perhaps they truly are magic, after all.

Exhibitions and Collections

Solo shows:

2015: Calypso, Jewelry collection trunk show

2013: Homer

2008: Elizabeth Moore Fine Arts, New York, NY, Lisa Pevaroff-Cohn New Works

Collections:

Rhode Island School Of Design Museum

United States Department of State, Art in Embassies, Montenegro

United States Department of State, Art in Embassies, Portugal

Group exhibitions:

2013 – 2018: “BCRF Paddle For Pink”, Bridgehampton, NY. One of a kind paddleboards and handmade, one of a kind gold leaf, collage, and resin surfboards

2015: “Five By Seven”, Ricco Maresca Gallery, New York, NY

2012 – 2014: “Hayground”, Bridgehampton, NY

2008: “Everything That Is Beautiful”, Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper Residence, East Hampton, NY

2007: “Choice Art”, Sotheby’s, New York, NY

2006: “A Hampton’s Happening”, The Lavipour Residence, Bridgehampton, NY

2005: “A Hampton’s Happening”, Robyn and Kenneth Joseph Residence, Wainscott, NY

2004: “A Benefit for Hayground”, Lizan Tops Gallery, East Hampton, NY

2003: “A Benefit for Hayground”, Lizan Tops Gallery, East Hampton, NY

1990: “12 x 12”, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island, juried, mixed media exhibit

Why Buy Art By Lisa Pevaroff?

There is no doubt that Lisa Pevaroff is an excellent artist. Her exquisite attention to detail is what makes her ideas jump out from the canvas or the screen and into your mind and your heart. Because this is the beauty of Pevaroff’s work; you will fall in love with it. It’s not so complex that no one understands it, it’s not confusing or inaccessible. Instead, Pevaroff’s art, from her paintings to her jewelry, is perfectly of the moment, and that means it is perfectly suitable for any home.

When you buy art created by Lisa Pevaroff, whether you hang it in your living room or bedroom or you wear it every day, you are purchasing more than the art itself; you are buying a much larger idea, and one that can be linked to everything around you – you are allowing yourself to connect with the bigger picture.