Ida Lorentzen: Interior Light and Space

“Light is the life of the painting. The room is where life exists. We build our rooms and light gives them life.” – Ida Lorentzen

The intimacy of interior spaces has historically attracted the attention of artists ranging from the Dutch Masters to Vincent Van Gogh and revealed much to us about the lives of those who inhabit the spaces portrayed. Norwegian-American painter Ida Lorentzen continues the tradition of this artistic genre, but with a distinctly contemporary twist: her utterly calm, spare interiors are the stage upon which light acts. Her explorations take us on a visual journey that is more Ingmar Bergman than Edward Hopper, and tell us much about our modern selves.

Ida Lorentzen was born in New York City in 1951 and lives and works near Oslo, Norway. She studied at the Boston University College of Fine Arts, and later attended Statens Kunstakademi in Oslo. Lorentzen has been shown in 30 solo exhibitions since 1980. This exhibition at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art is the first solo exhibition of her work in the United States outside New York and Naples, Florida.

This exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Harmon-Meek Gallery in Naples, Florida.