THE EARLEY DAYS; TALENT FROM WAY BACK WHEN

Walk through a hall of mirrors and pass by the one that turns you into a lanky stretched-out version of yourself. After pulling a few faces, doing a little dance and quite possibly making a little love and/or getting down tonight; remember that gangly reflection. That’s you. And for the short amount of time before you move on to the next mirror, that ‘you’ is almost a Lori Earley rendition of yourself. Almost. What that image lacks however, among the many other aspects of an Earley painting, is the celestial quality and the almost ridiculous amount of emotion that is poured into each one of her portraits.

So why is it only now, after years of producing unique portraits, that Earley is truly being recognized, and more importantly appreciated, by the general public? Could it have something to do with the painting of Madonna on show for this year’s Grammy’s? I don’t think so. Because if one was able (and many were, trust me) to take a look at that image and instantly know it was a Lori Earley portrait, then surely she was heard of before? Too right – you were just late for that little bandwagon.

Earley began exhibiting her work in 2004 in New York where she not only grew up, but also nurtured her talents at the School of Visual Arts: New York. Just one other reason to put on that awfully camp ‘I ♥ NY’ t-shirt you “don’t recall” buying, you say? Really, is there ever a reason? (Take it off, burn it and we’ll never speak of it again). A gifted artist from a young age, Earley managed to create a concrete distinct style by the winter years of her adolescence. Storming through all sorts of mediums including canvas, paper, oil and graphite with flying colours, Earley was soon ‘acclaimed as an exceptional new talent’- getting much notice for her instantly recognisable portraits.

Her twisted take on reality drew praise and attention from various galleries and other artists, not to mention collectors. The sad truth is though, the public as a whole are rather slow to catch on to these sorts of things so going through her gallery, you’d be forgiven for thinking her work is a tad repetitive; the same lengthy-limbed anorexics with big anime-esque eyes;  yes, yes we saw it all in her other galleries in a slightly different setting. I’m not going to disagree with you there, but as we weren’t around to witness these collections develop, seeing them as a whole makes it harder for us to appreciate just how much Earley has grown as an artist.

Of her work, Earley believes her paintings are a ‘combination of classic realistic rendering with a personal element of distortion…[which] comes from [her] innate desire to transform…emotions into tangible planes’. To me, the thing about these bizarrely seductive skeletal sirens is, as with most things, the details. Do you realize none of them are smiling? Did you pick out the abundance of beautiful naked shoulders and décolletage?  I did. Oh, you did too? Well yes, well done you and I then. I mean sure, we all noticed that for an artist noted for her ‘undeniable feminine force’, these angular individuals she paints are all just that. Very angular, skinny ladies who instill that ‘why do the only designer clothes I can afford come in sample sizes?’ feeling in her more shallow, newer fans. But were you aware of the subtle lighting that really makes these paintings what you know they are, but just can’t quite put your finger on. They have that glow; those understated shafts of light that reflect off those pointed shoulders. The colours that work together to form a seamless dreamscape that we can only hope to even imagine. The often sad but strong women in her works have more emotion in their eyes than this writer could ever express, no matter how many articles she writes; run-on sentences and all. These ladies are jarring and almost wrong in such a beautiful way, that they must exist somewhere; either in different worlds or times to ours. Their overly expressive eyes are rich with detail and knowing. And it’s the urge to learn what it is they know that is valuable enough to steal you away from whatever space you observe them from, straight into their hall of mirrors.

And if having your work thought valuable enough to be stolen is a sign of just how far you’ve come, then these really are Earley’s days. Her last show ‘Fade To Gray’ was unlucky (or lucky from a publicity point of view) enough to have not one, but two paintings pilfered. While the thief was caught, the drawings are yet to be recovered. However, fans of the 2008 solo show will still be able to enjoy at least one of the drawings as a limited edition print. And to me, knowing that somewhere in our fat, dull- eyed, boring little world there’s a little bit of Ms Earley hidden away in a cheap poster tube waiting to be discovered (and by that I mean her artwork, you twisted madman)…Well that is pretty darned thrilling.

loriearley.com

Words Niki Renganathan Images Lori Earley