Lily Ludlow

Lily Ludlow (b. 1970, Los Angeles, CA) makes paintings that are a mixture of figuration and machine-like curvilinear shapes that either fit together comfortably or jostle against each other and the confines of the painting’s boundaries.

The arabesques and tender grace notes allude to dance; the isolation of a moment in time or a focus on specific gesture signify Ludlow’s deeply felt reality. Heavily worked, each piece becomes a tool for insight and understanding as the painter refines the position of a leg or stylized torso, gradually moving towards a sense of activated stasis.

Artworks

Lily Ludlow,
Indivisible by Three,
2024,
23 ⅝ × 31 ½ inches (60 × 80 cm)
Acrylic, chalk and graphite on canvas

Lily Ludlow,
Beetle,
2024,
31 ½ × 23 ⅝ inches (80 × 60 cm)
Acrylic, chalk and graphite on canvas

Lily Ludlow,
Kit and Nova,
2024,
15 ¾ × 12 ½ × 1 ½ inches (40.01 × 31.75 × 3.81 cm) (framed)
Acrylic, chalk, and graphite on paper

Lily Ludlow,
Mitte and Henry,
2024,
Acrylic and chalk on canvas,
12 × 10 in (30.48 × 25.4 cm)

Lily Ludlow,
Daphne,
2023,
28 ¼ × 21 ¼ × 2 ¼ inches (71.76 × 53.98 × 5.72 cm) (framed)
Acrylic and graphite on wood panel

Lily Ludlow,
The Calliopes,
2023,
30 × 24 in (76.2 × 60.96 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas

Lily Ludlow,
Crocus,
2023,
12 × 9 in (30.48 × 22.86 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas

Lily Ludlow,
Anemone,
2023,
12 × 9 in (30.48 × 22.86 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas

Lily Ludlow,
Fleur Jaune,
2019,
27 × 20 in (68.58 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic and colored pencil on canvas over panel

Lily Ludlow,
Nanette,
2018,
27 ½ × 20 in (69.85 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel

Lily Ludlow,
Dicentra Spectabilis,
2018,
27 ½ × 20 in (69.85 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel

Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2018,
27 ½ × 20 in (69.85 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel

Lily Ludlow,
Rebecca,
2017,
27 × 29 in (68.58 × 73.66 cm)
Acrylic on panel

Lily Ludlow,
Rebekah,
2017,
27 × 20 in (68.58 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel

Lily Ludlow,
Rebeca,
2017,
27 × 20 in (68.58 × 50.8 cm)
Acrylic on panel

Lily Ludlow,
Untitled,
2017,
15 × 12 in (38.1 × 30.48 cm)
Pencil, graphite, acrylic on paper

Lily Ludlow,

Sowing Circle,

2009,

Video

Lily Ludlow,

Sunflower,

2008,

Video

Lily Ludlow,

Somnus,

2007,

Video

Installation Views

Installation view, Lily Ludlow, CANADA, 2017

Exhibitions

Lily Ludlow, New Paintings, Nov 22 – Jan 11, 2025

Lily Ludlow, New Paintings, Aug 19 – Sep 23, 2023

Lily Ludlow, New Paintings, Nov 9 – Dec 14, 2019

Lily Ludlow, New Work, Sep 9 – Oct 8, 2017

Lily Ludlow, Pareidolia, Nov 13 – Dec 7, 2014

Lily Ludlow, Ten for Aidas, Oct 28 – Dec 4, 2011

Lily Ludlow, Sowing Circle, Dec 12 – Jan 18, 2009

Lily Ludlow, Every Flinching Atom of Flesh Must Be Flayed, Apr 6 – May 13, 2007

Lily Ludlow and Stephen Ellwood, New work, Mar 15 – Apr 20, 2003

Press

"Make Painting Great Again." The New Yorker June 29, 2016

Phil Grauer "Lily Ludlow Interview by Phil Grauer." The Journal October 13, 2013

Lucy Madison "Circle of Friends." Interview Magazine December 10, 2010

Lauren Cross "Profile: Open Intimacy." Tokion October 30, 2009

Vogue Greece May, 2009

Roberta Smith "Lily Ludlow and Allen Cordell: "Sowing Circle"." The New York Times January 9, 2009

"Artist Multiple." North Drive Press (NDP#5) January 1, 2009

Lucy Madison "Art Film by Lily Ludlow and Allen Cordenn." Interview Magazine December/January, 2008

Jonathan T.D. Neil "Lily Ludlow: Every Flinching Atom of Flesh Must Be Flayed." ArtReview June, 2007

"Lily Ludlow." Nylon June, 2007

Holland Cotter "Lily Ludlow." The New York Times May 4, 2007

Paper Magazine March, 2007

Christopher Spinelli "Fashion is an Art Victim." whitewall Fall, 2006

Jane Magazine 2006, January

Vouge December, 2005

Roberta Smith "Art Review: Fanciful to Figurative To Wryly Inscrutable." The New York Times July 29, 2005

Holland Cotter "Devendra Banhart, Lily Ludlow, Elena Pankova." The New York Times July 9, 2004

"Newyorkster." Nylon July, 2004

CV

Lily Ludlow

b. 1970, Los Angeles, CA

Lives and works in Port Chester, NY

Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2023
  New Paintings, CANADA, East Hampton, NY
- 2019
  New Paintings, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2017
  Lily Ludlow, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2014
  Pareidolia, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2012
  Lily Ludlow, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
- 2011
  Ten for Aidas, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2009
  Lily Ludlow, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Athens, Greece
- 2008
  Sowing Circle, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2007
  Every Flinching Atom of Flesh Must Be Flayed, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2006
  CSV, New York, NY
- 2004
  The Somnus Collection 2005, CANADA, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2025
  Paper Tigers, CANADA, New York, NY
  Hubba Hideout, CANADA, New York, NY
  Couch Paintings, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2024
  Joan Snyder, Lily Ludlow, Mimi Lauter, & Xylor Jane, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2023
  Canada on Paper, CANADA, East Hampton, NY
  Safe Space, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Athens, Greece
- 2021
  The Thick Stream, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2019
  CANADA b/w Drag City, Soccer Club Club, Chicago, IL
- 2018
  Faces | People, Rebecca Camhi Gallery, Athens, Greece
- 2017
  To Speak of Trees, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
  Drawing Island, The Journal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
- 2016
  Make Painting Great Again, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2015
  Let’s Get Figurative, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, New York, NY
  Calisthenics, curated by Matt Paweski, Thomas Duncan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2014
  Freezer Burn, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY
  New Image Painting, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
  De Re Gallery Grand Opening, De Re Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2011
  Free Soil, CANADA, New York, NY
- 2008
  Part Two: Easy Times, Leo Koenig Gallery, New York, NY
- 2007
  The Wrong Store, New York, NY
- 2006
  The Perfect Man Show, White Columns, New York, NY
  Mid-Life Crisis, Salander O’Reilly, New York, NY
- 2005
  I Throw Herring To The Dog (Curator), CANADA, New York, NY
- 2004
  Yesteryear, CANADA, New York, NY
  Indigestible Correctness, Participant, New York, NY
- 2003
  Two-Person Show with Stephen Elwood, CANADA, New York, NY