Elina Lorenz currently has about 70 pieces on display at Triumph Brewery in Princeton. Previously she had exhibitions at Twist and Small World, but now her art has room to breathe in this spacious facility.
This local artist is here by way of Moldova where she learned how to paint at the tender age of two. Elina went on to formally study seven years at the Igor Vieru Art Lyceum under the tutelage of Anatol Mocanu. After graduating the art lyceum she went to Teacher Training University and got a degree in French and English Languages and Literature. She had continued to paint and sell art while studying.
Lorenz paints in different styles, including abstract, realism and folk art, and she works with oil paint, acrylic, watercolor, ink, colored pencils, and pastels. She also likes to attach different objects to the canvas, and experiment with textures and shapes. Seeing some of her abstracts of yellows, oranges and reds using geometric shapes, I get the feeling that one of her influences were Kadinsky during his Bauhaus period. Both of her parents are artists, so I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
I asked Ms. Lorenz a few questions about her career. Here’s what she had to say:
- Princeton Found: Was it difficult to get your work displayed at Triumph?
- Elina Lorenz: I wrote an email to the manager of Triumph and asked him whether I could show my art there. Then we met and I showed him some of my art pieces. He liked them and later emailed me the date when I can exhibit . My show date was a year from the day we had the appointment, which gave me time to make more paintings.
- PF: Why do you use mostly orange, red and yellow in your pieces?
- EL: They are my favorite colors, and they make me happy when I work with and look at them.
- PF: Besides other artists, who or what has been your biggest influence?
- EL: I get inspired by nice music, beautiful weather, and looking at flowers. I have a little daughter who is my main source of inspiration.
- PF: I’ve noticed some of your newer work has taken on a new style. What caused this change?
- EL: I am always trying something new, and it is very interesting what one can do while experimenting. I also find that if you work in one style it gets boring. As an artistic person I like diversity. It mostly depends on my mood or medium I use to make an art piece.
- PF: How often do you paint?
- EL: I paint every day. If for some reason I don’t get to paint or draw I feel like I’ve missed out on something, and I am not happy.
- PF: Is there a piece you will NEVER sell?
- EL: Yes, there are two of them. The first is Plato the Cat, which is a collage painting that I gave my husband as a gift. The second, Mani, is a landscape painting of a Greek island, which was commissioned by my husband.
- PF: What are your goals for the next 5 years?
- EL: I would like to work with encaustic paint, which I have never used before, and to try to get my work in an art gallery.
Elina’s work will be on display at Triumph Brewery until May 29, 2011. It’s definitely worth a look, so I recommend stopping by and giving yourself about 30 minutes to view them all. If you don’t have time, check out her website Sublime Colors, which has her artwork posted, and even shows what pieces are for sale.