Lara Scolari is a contemporary Australian visual artist, a creative entrepreneur and a recognised fine art expert, renowned for her striking original artworks that are making a splash on the Australian art scene.
Holding a Masters in Cross Disciplinary Art & Design from the University of New South Wales, and with many years of experience working in the arts and cultural sector, Lara is a highly respected expert who expresses a wealth of knowledge within the art sphere.
A natural born artist who grew up in Sydney’s leafy suburb of Balmain, Lara was always destined to become a painter. Her mother is a painter and her father, who is a talented musician, used to work as an industrial chemist for the art brand Matisse Derivan, which manufacture artist paint and mediums.
“I had so much beautiful paint around me growing up and was always encouraged to use it, and with volume!”
The ability to use paint so liberally growing up inspired Lara to become a prolific, gestural action painter, where paint is deliberately washed, poured and trickled onto the canvas rather being carefully applied.
Influenced by major artistic figures such as Brett Whitley, Helen Frankenthaler, John Olsen, Hans Hoffman and Mark Rothko, Lara developed her own distinct approach to the ‘abstract expressionist’ style.
“I have tried very hard to forge my own style and stay true to myself – I don’t know anyone who does it like me and I am proud of that.”
Lara moved to Dubbo for work in her early 20s, as the Education Officer at the Western Plains Cultural Centre. While in the country, Lara proudly exhibited her contemporary abstract artworks in many solo and group exhibitions, including the Dubbo Regional Gallery and Orange Regional Gallery. Lara spent 20 years in Dubbo fostering her love of art and focusing on her young family.
With her three boys gaining increasing independence, Lara decided to follow her passion to create original art, and equipped with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, she took the opportunity in 2013 to apply for and win, a 6-month artist residency back in Sydney. In 2014, Lara also launched her first strong body of work at a solo exhibition at the Dank Street Gallery in Waterloo.
Lara now resides in Balmain, where she works fulltime from her vibrant light-filled studio, which she is in the process of converting into a stunning family home, an open art gallery and her ‘happy creative space’.
Her recent body of work, ‘CONTEMPORARY LUXE’, has been a huge success and has propelled Lara’s career into the stratosphere. Inspired by her surrounding environment in Balmain, her eye-catching paintings feature beautiful translucent blues and greens, together with the simple, considered form of the fluid organic circle; influenced by our Australian culture – an island continent surrounded by water.
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As with all of Lara’s work, it is produced in an ‘abstract expressionist’ style and a variety of mediums is used to create depth through exquisite transparent layers that reveal hidden dioramas.
“Art making is a form of meditation and I have learnt not to get too caught up in the outcomes and trust that when I let the process happen, the magic will come,” Lara comments.
Lara’s use of tonal combinations with rich and luscious colour, harmonising with fluid and organic shapes, lines and compositions, has been a particular hit with some of Sydney’s leading interior designers including the multi-award winning Interior Designer, Greg Natale, who has purchased Lara’s exquisite masterpieces for his list of A-list clients.
The secret to her success is a business-minded approach and a proven, step-by-step system which Lara has developed over the course of her career. Lara is frequently commissioned to create space-specific pieces of art for beautiful refurbishments including most recently for Sails on Lavender Bay, the Republic Hotel on Sydney Harbour and Mirage Whitsundays to name a few.
Lara is incredibly humble about her success, even though the past three years have been tremendously busy and exciting. She has now exhibited at more than 75 group and solo shows and admits she has no plans on slowing down any time soon.
Her next collection, ‘FLUX’, will be launching at the prestigious Maunsell Wickes Gallery in October 2018. This collection focuses on capturing the visual energy, movement, life force and palette of the Australian landscape through the use of layered organic forms.
To top off her expanding success, Lara recently announced her collaboration with Designer Rugs Australia, creating a bespoke “Lara Scolari Collection” to be released in early 2019. This is the next electrifying feather in Lara’s cap and an indication of the exciting things to come.
Lara will be writing a regular column for My Entrepreneur Magazine starting from next week.
