My paintings are politically and socially motivated and are a quirky convergence of magical and social realism, situated where art history, collective memory, contemporary urbanity and the imagination meet. I reference English 18th and 19th century painting and preindustrial culture and aim to represent the continued influence of the political, economic and agricultural policy that resulted in war, famine, restricted civil liberties and urbanization, on contemporary anxiety. Anxiety is a recurrent theme in my work, as is beauty; to avoid being didactic I hide my political thinking within a pleasing aesthetic. The scenes appear bucolic, yet disguised within the familiar and whimsical, the themes are about the underbelly of Englishness and are quietly subversive. My characters inhabit a dysfunctional melancholy world where history repeats, populated with returning soldiers, fatherless children, street drunks, fighting dogs and monkeys smoking crack.
In the formal exploration of painting, some of the techniques I use are traditional, taken from the imagery of the past. I draw and paint in ink and oil: under painting, glazing and scumbling and working wet in wet. Each painting is a painstakingly constructed tableau about the interrelationship of past and present and the imagined. I work from collages of found photography and my own, each element is selected because it socially and historically encapsulates the time in which it was made and its relevance today. Excavating and subverting the historical and visual references new narratives emerge that quietly talk of urban decay, class struggle, gender politics and suggested violence. There is a conceptual element to my painting, the idea comes first, triggered by a backstory I have discovered; my painting is a response; the technique a solution. I use realism to make my themes accessible and to help the viewer find a way in I use descriptive titles, for example: Broken Britain, The Big Society, Spring Riot.
For more information and general enquiries please contact Laura by emailing:
› enquiries@lauramoretongriffiths.com
Last updated: February 2012
Exhibiting MAY 2012
snap!
Wednesday 02 May – Monday 07 May
South London Women Artists’ second show at Bankside Gallery exhibits selected work from their diverse practices. Works include painting, photography, printmaking, drawing and textiles. The exhibition is based around the Women Artist Diaries from the Women’s Library collection at Goldsmith’s University. During the show there will be gallery talk and events.
48 Hopton StreetCity of London
SE1 9JH
Wednesday 02 May – Monday 07 May
11am – 6pm
PV Thursday 03 May 6 – 9pm
Admission Free
Exhibiting MAY 2012
Open studio as part of Dulwich Open House
Janet Tod exhibits still life paintings with a luminosity of strong, clear colour. Laura Moreton-Griffiths exhibits quietly subversive paintings and drawings that contrast beauty and anxiety. Lesley O'Mara exhibits figurative and abstract paintings, mainly in oil.
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 May
Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 May
11am – 6pm
Admission Free
D211 , Second Floor, Parkhall Trading Estate
40 Martell Road
Dulwich
SE21 8EN
Exhibiting MARCH 2012
Dreams are private myths, myths are public dreams
SLWA artists respond to this quote from the mythologist, Joseph Campbell, who believed that if myths are to sustain their vital functions in the world today, they have to continually transform and evolve to address the realities of contemporary life. If dreams form part of our reality, can we draw on our intuition and unconscious to reflect the changing world around us? If so, how can we reach out to the wider public and ask for active participation of the meaning encountered by our work?
Sunday 04 March to Saturday 31 March 2012
PV Thursday 08 March 8 – 10pm
Artist talks and panel discussions Sunday 18 March 12 – 4pm
Opening times:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday 9am to 8pm
Tuesday 10am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 4pm
Admission free
Dulwich Library
368 Lordship Lane
SE22 8NB
EXHIBITING NOW AND EVERY LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH
Open Studios Last Fridays in association with the South London Art Map
See new work and buy direct
27 January
24 February
30 March
27 April
25 May
29 June
27 July
6 - 9pm
Admission free
Arch 226, Blenheim Court48-50 Blenheim Grove
London
SE15 4QL
› South London Art Map
› The Arches
EXHIBITING NOW
Selected works on show throughout the year at Toutes Directions
Opening times:
Monday Closed
Tuesday to Saturday 12 – 6pm
Sunday 12 – 5pm
204 Bellenden Road
SE15