Nancy Lorenz: Willamette Week

When an artist describes their work as an exploration of the "Joy of Painting," you might expect happy landscapes and smooth narration, but Nancy Lorenz’s abstract compositions juxtapose earthly burlap and heavenly metallics. The material contrasts balance a decorative taste for preciousness with a pragmatic craftsman sensibility that speaks to Portland's taste for high-end DIY. Meanwhile, the emphasis on coarse surfaces and slick pigments transcend the starting point of "painting on canvas" to become intimate icons referencing historical precedents of spiritual and expressionistic painting.