Louise Balaam
Rooted in the English landscape tradition yet driven by the visceral spontaneity of gestural abstraction, this Kent-based painter channels the emotional force of place into luminous, tactile compositions where light, memory, and instinct collide on the canvas.
Balaam is a painter of expressive, gestural landscapes. Her paintings communicate an intense emotional response to the experience of being in the landscape. A focus on materiality and sensual qualities of oil paint are important elements of her process. Balaam is influenced by the English landscape tradition, particularly Constable’s view that “Painting is but another word for feeling.” Her drawings serve as the starting point for a way of painting which is exploratory and intuitive, developing through an almost subconscious process.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
Royal Academy Summer Show, the Threadneedle Prize, the Lynn Painter-Stainer Prize, and the Discerning Eye.
EDUCATION:
MA in Fine Art from the University College, Canterbury and a BA from the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Canterbury.
Balaam lives and works in Kent, England.
“I love the way paint is simultaneously itself, essentially coloured mud, while also somehow evoking the space and light of the landscape. For me, the light is a crucial aspect of the emotional impact of the painting. I’m fascinated by the mysterious way paint expresses things which can’t be put into words..”
Interview:
