Liza Lou's Return to Color and Solitude in Windowless Warehouse Studio

Liza Lou's current exhibition 'FAQ' runs at Thaddaeus Ropac in London until 23 May. The American artist, based in the San Fernando Valley, California, has shifted from monochrome beadwork back to vibrant color through a new fusion of oil painting and glass beads. Her latest work emerges from a windowless warehouse studio in Los Angeles, where she describes creating canvases as windows that offer views through color. Lou first gained attention with 'Kitchen' (1991-1996), a full-scale beaded interior made during five years of isolation. She then spent 15 years collaborating with women in South Africa on bead-encrusted sculptures in increasingly monochrome tones. Now working alone again, she begins each studio day with oil stick drawings to transition from logical to 'wild brain' thinking. The artist collects color samples during hikes in California's Mojave Desert, bringing natural chromatic inspiration into her industrial workspace. Lou views color as an ineffable search that provides relief from darkness, describing her process as arriving in the dark and slowly bringing light through artistic creation.