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Lee-Ann Rodwell
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She is versatile and her collections have expanded to large portraits of imaginary people from Tangier and rich floral abstracts. Lately she has discovered an exciting ability to “channel” while painting with no pre conceived idea of what will emerge. This has led to highly imaginative and surreal paintings.
Lee-Ann has been fascinated with the creative process from a very young age, and has gone on to study at The Florence Academy and under many internationally esteemed artists, including David Kassan, Max Ginsberg, Robert Liberace, Hollis Dunlap, Sean Cheetham and Tim Benson in countries as disparate as France, Spain and Portugal.
Lee-Ann returned to South Africa seven years ago after having lived in London and Mauritius for the previous 25 years. She has primarily focused on commissions in the past. She is currently based in St James.
Lee-Ann Rodwell is an old soul, drawn to the patina of timeworn objects and the echoes of past worlds. If she could slip through the veil of history, she might be found in Rembrandt’s dimly lit studio, amid the bohemian whirl of Toulouse-Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge, or peering over the shoulder of the tempestuous Antonio Mancini. These artistic giants have profoundly influenced her practice, inspiring her to reinterpret their techniques through a contemporary lens.
Her work is driven by deep, intuitive impulses, resulting in paintings that feel both timeless and otherworldly. Faces from the 17th century are paired with modern hands, eyes from different eras gaze out from the same portrait, and figures draped in historical attire exist in an uncanny limbo between past and present. Imperfections, asymmetry, and subtle symbolism infuse her work, inviting viewers into a space where history and imagination intertwine.
In 2020, Lee-Ann embarked on Beyond the Veil, a series of near life-sized oil paintings exploring the innate strength and sensuality of women. Each piece in the collection pays homage to the resilience of those who have endured and transcended centuries of discrimination.
A fascination with life after death lends a mystical quality to her work. Some of her subjects emerge in a liminal, dreamlike state, as if summoning her to bring them into being. Others are drawn from her everyday life, their presence transformed through her artistic vision.
