MUNTHE ART MONDAY: LYDIA HAMBLET

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

I’m an artist based in London. I predominantly make abstract oil paintings and I have two degrees in Printmaking and Illustration from the Royal College of Art and Camberwell College of Arts. My work reflects on shared encounters, spaces and environments with an overarching narrative referencing the weather and how it is connected with our memory. This can be detected in my process of translating drawings to large scale paintings — passing visual, spatial and emotional experiences into memory, where they become both intensified and diffused.

My drawings come from spending time in a place, drawing on location or returning to the studio to reflect and sketch from photos, film or memory. These drawings contribute to an extensive and growing archive which I continually refer back to and is crucial to my painting approach. When working on a painting, I’ll often select a variety of marks and notations which become an amalgamation of different times, seasons, places and distorted memories. Certain compositional frameworks and shapes make reappearances and are recognised as motifs throughout much of my work. This repetition creates a space for original concepts to be recognised as something else entirely.

I find myself revisiting certain landscapes for different reasons and I’m still searching for connections between these spaces but feel I can navigate these ideas on a deeper level through understanding and exploring the process of painting. I’ve started to realise that I use weather as a metaphor to mask true honesty in my work. The last two years have been draining for different reasons, and I’ve experienced a lot of change. As a result of this, my approach to painting has shifted: the way I apply paint, my mark making, my references and the use of my drawing archive. I’m exploring ways to share more resilience and honesty in my work. Giving space to the paintings, allowing them to become part of the furniture in the studio for a while. At the moment, I’m working towards a show this year. I’m excited to see the course the paintings take.

Lydia is wearing Skallo Blouse.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

Joan Mitchell was one of the first female painters, specifically from the AbEx movement, whose work I saw in person. The sheer scale and energy carried across her four-panelled work “The Goodbye Door” which I saw at Musée de l’Orangerie was significant to me at a time where I was beginning to move away from printmaking and toward painting.

I often refer back to Julie Mehretu, particularly for the sensitivity and movement in her mark making. I’m a big fan of her early 2004 series “Stadia”, which depict the grandeur and energy of sports arenas. I have spent a lot of time looking at these paintings.

Cecily Brown is another artist whose work I spend a lot of time looking at. The first Brown painting I saw in person was at a group show at the Whitechapel Gallery, several years ago. I was then lucky enough to see several of her works when I visited New York. I really feel her paintings need to be seen in person. They carry so much depth that often details can be missed on a screen. The way she incorporates layers of historical and cultural references into her work has influenced me in more ways than I feel able to articulate.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

I read in a text by Magnus Resch that women receive fewer shows, achieve lower prices and sell less work compared to our male counterparts. Historically, just being a woman in the arts is more challenging. Having said that, things have been and still are changing. I’m starting to see more exhibitions with majority female artists. In 2023, I exhibited in a group show (“Taking A Broom to the Wasps’s Nest”) with six other female artists. The show was curated by Josephine Bailey, whose work specialises in Contemporary Art and Feminist Theory. Josephine is a great example of someone who advocates for women in the arts. These kind of spaces existing definitely helps pave the way for many great female artists.

Lydia is wearing Shimo Pants.

Can you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

I think we often experience misogyny in the art world without realising it sometimes. It can feel hard to be honest about it as there is always a risk of feeding into a stereotype, as well. Last year, I was having to fight for a long time to be paid by [a particular] gallery and was being ignored for months at a time. I know this is a problem every artist may unfortunately face at one point or another during their career, but I do wonder if this situation would have played out differently had I not been a woman. I wasn’t taken seriously in this particular situation. I do think this happens more often than we think, and I don’t think it’s talked about enough. Having said that, there is so much space being made for women in the arts. It’s great to see the trajectory, especially women supporting women, which is so encouraging.

Lydia is wearing Skallo Blouse and Spacy knit.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

I want people to indulge in my palette. To understand a feeling or motive behind the work. I love that my paintings have the tendency to be read in different ways. Ultimately if my work is able to gives someone the same feeling that other paintings give me, that’s all I strive for.

Lydia is wearing Skallo Blouse and Spacy knit.