Loretta Lux (1969)
You might consider Loretta Lux as the first of the next generation of painters who have found a valued ally in the computer. Raised in the former East Germany, Lux studied painting in Munich and now resides in Dublin. She seamlessly blends memories from her youth with photographic images, driven by a sense of drama and knowledge of art history and inspired by painters such as Angelo Bronzino (1503-1572), Velázquez (1599-1660) and De Goya (1746-1818).
In recent years, Lux has been photographing young children as subjects and processing the images on a computer, creating a painting-like atmosphere and detached tone that places the viewer in a mood somewhere between unease and amazement. The portraits are crystal clear, with no trace of a shadow to be seen. Nothing is left to chance: all attributes, the clothing, the pose and the lighting are attuned to these little princes and princesses. But their expression and diffident look disrupt the pastoral idyll. 'I think we're all a little lost, lost in a world that we can't understand,' says Lux. What we do know is that we have to go our own way.'* Lux's work exhibits a relationship with the oeuvres of Dutch artists from the Rabo Art Collection such as Micha Klein, Inez van Lamsweerde, Margi Geerlinks and Desiree Dolron.
* S. D’Hoore e.a., ‘Een verloren paradijs: de koele kids van Loretta Lux’, Snoecks 2004, p. 461
