A painter by training, Lydia Gifford’s approach is driven by a singular conception of abstraction bordering on sculpture. Using poor materials, she inscribes bodily traces in their very materiality, a mise en abyme of the pictorial act which is also a search for presence. In a highly personal rhythm, she alternates diaphanous touches with a saturation of impulsive gestures. Through a form of contamination, her works are part of a phenomenological journey in dialogue with the exhibition space experienced by the viewer.

Born in 1979 in Cheltenham, Lydia Gifford studied at the Chelsea School of Art and Design, then at the Royal College of Art. She won the Valerie Beston Young Artists’ Prize in 2008. Lydia Gifford lives and works in London.