My abstract paintings explore themes of change and transformation through the subject of landscape. I approach making my work the same way I explore a place: over time, in layers, with shifting perspectives. Layers of ink and paint mimic the geological formations revealed by satellite maps and colors drawn from the earth, water, and sky converge. These paintings often pivot around visual interruptions, where crisp divisions in the picture plane suggest shifts in perspective and time. Sometimes areas of a painting are cut away entirely, marking the ephemeral nature of our environments. Atmospheric passages mingle with cargtographical and technological references, resulting in a complex visual matrix, sometimes quiet and subtle, other times bursting with energy, like the landscape itself.
The places that inspire my paintings become a lens through which I make sense of the world and time that we are living in. I am particularly attracted to landscapes that have endured human interventions and dramatic changes over time, usually the remainders and margins of urban space or remote locations that have been shaped by extraction, use, infrastructure, and sometimes restoration. Other times I focus on physical dynamics in the landscape, such as geological formations, fire, water systems, and weather events. I am drawn to areas where one type of space transitions to another: earth to sky, shadow to light, burn pile to ash, tidal marsh to open water. I look for a resonance of opposites, a moment of slippage and surprise, a glitch of unexpected beauty; where one thing becomes another, I find a metaphor for transformation.
Statement
Bio
Lisa Kairos makes dynamic abstract landscapes to get lost in; her work is inspired by the intersection of environment, perception, beauty, and technology. A California native, Lisa recieved her degree in fine art with an emphasis in painting at UC Santa Cruz in 1990. She has exhibited in group and solo shows and at art fairs throughout the United States. Her work is held in many private and corporate collections and she has completed numerous commissions for public and private spaces. She currently lives and works in San Francisco.
Representation
Slate Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Edna Contemporary, San Luis Obispo, CA
Resume
Solo Exhibitions:
2022 Superbloom, Slate Contemporary, Oakland, CA
2019 Field/Work, City College Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017 Bay Cartographies, Jen Tough Gallery, Vallejo, CA
2016 The Periphery Project: Walking the Bay, Bay Model Visitor Center, Sausalito, CA
2015 Peripheral Views, Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013 Cartography for Dreamers, Gallery at R&F, R&F Paints, Kingston, NY
2012 Polyoptic Landscapes, A.W.E. Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 Lisa Kairos New Work ‘09, Enso Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA
1996 Lisa Kairos Recent Work, Research Libraries Group, Palo Alto, CA
1993 Structures: Landscapes in the Abstract Tradition, Smith Gallery, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA
Selected Group and Exhibitions:
2024 Winter Showcase, Slate Contemporary, CA
Ties That Bind: Magic, Messages, and Memories, Art Bias, San Carlos, CA
2023 Far Away is Now, 1207 10 Art Space, Berkeley, CA
Seen and Imagined, Gallery Route One, Point Reyes Station, CA
2021 Elements of Nature, Slate at Cornerstone, Sonoma, CA
2020 Left Coast Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
2019 Linear Interplay, 3-person show, Slate Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Summer Salt, San Ramon Conference Center, San Ramon, CA
Wildlands Residency open house group show, Healdsburg, CA
2018 Refresh, Long View Gallery, Washington DC
2017 Encaustic, Long View Gallery, Washington DC
Mapping as Source, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA
Wax: Explorations in Hot and Cold Wax Mediums, Jen Tough Gallery, Vallejo, CA
Left Coast Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
2016 50/50 Show, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
2015 Same, Same but Different, Hang Art, San Francisco, CA
2014 50/50 Show, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
2013 Taking Shape, Hang Art, San Francisco, CA
2012 Front Lines, Hang Art, San Francisco, CA
Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Works, P.V.A.C. Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2011 Heat and Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Paintings, Pacific Union College, Angwin, CA
2010 Epiphany, Felix Culpa Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
Working With Wax: Contemporary Encaustic Painting, Santa Rosa Junior College Art
Gallery, Santa Rosa, CA
2009 Working in Wax, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
2008 Wishful Thinking, Lark and Key Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Translucent, Cain Shulte Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 New Works, Huff Harrington Fine Art, Atlanta, GA
1992 Exemplary Contemporary, Smith Gallery, UCSC, Santa Cruz (Award)
Residencies
2020 PLAYA residency, Summer Lake, OR
2019 Wildlands Artist Residency, Healdsburg, CA
Publications, Presentations, Workshops:
2018 Savvy Painter Podcast interview: Dec. 13, 2018
2016 Workshop Instructor, Idyllwild School for the Arts, Idyllwild, CA
2013-16 Workshop Instructor, Waxworks West, Corralitos, CA
2014 Guest Curator and Artist Talk, Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013 Workshop Instructor, R&F Handmade Paints, Kingston, NY
2012 Encaustic Works 2012, Exhibition in Print, R&F Handmade Paints
2011 Presentation, International Encaustic Artists Annual Conference, Portland, OR
2007 Workshop/Presentation, Senior Studio in Painting, UCSC, Santa Cruz, CA
Education:
BA Fine Art, Emphasis in Painting, University of California Santa Cruz, 1990