LXS Lolita Develay
The Beauty Within
paintings by LOLITA DEVELAY, Las Vegas
April 29 – May 17, 2019
Las Vegas artist Lolita Develay’s paintings for The Beauty Within were completed across a period of three years. However, Develay’s vision for them began much earlier—she grew up on a small farm in the Mojave Desert, made mud pies and went on countless hikes to search for lizards. According to Develay; “My sister would come up from Los Angeles, she smelled amazing, not like dust, and her clothes were always so fashionable. I came to be fascinated with the way clothes define us, the politics behind them, how we choose to dress to influence the world’s perception of us. The clothes in these paintings represent an ultimate desire, for me they are status symbols of success.”
With the work of Lolita Develay, highly chromatic paint is tightly controlled with passages of realism and abstraction throughout all the work. The duality of skill and technique with strong images belie and intentionally obscure the concept behind the work. Influenced by her observations of Western cultural pursuit of self-actualization, these works are her perception of how capitalist values are manifest in consumerism. They interpret our desires, our attractions, and our aspirations of the ideals of beauty.
Her work consists mostly of oil paintings and watercolors executed in a trompe l’oeil (deceives the eye) intertwined with abstract features. She is currently exploring prevailing social values in American mainstream culture. These paintings embody her ultimate desire for lush surfaces and the luxury of time that allowed them to be created. “I am often conflicted with what constitutes success. In spite of this, I too am drawn in by the appeal of luxurious clothing, fantasies of a luxurious life. They also reflect the precious commodity of time, the time to paint them until the surface satisfies my desires.” Develay explains.
She has a Masters of Fine Art from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and currently works as an Interconnection Specialist at Tesla in Las Vegas and is Adjunct Professor of Fine Art at the College of Southern Nevada. Shas exhibited her work in Las Vegas galleries: the Priscilla Fowler Fine Art Gallery, Donna Beam Gallery, Left of Center and College of Southern Nevada.
To learn more about Lolita Develay and to purchase her artwork, go to http://www.priscillafowler.com/lolita-develay
