Lone Sorensen is a painter and academic who explores in her art our democratic present and future and the role of truth within them. The current moment marks a turning point in which performances of masking and unmasking switch as populist and authoritarian leaders politicise the idea of democracy, remould its meaning, then blatantly drop it as an albatross, only to don it again as a protective plumage. Lately the mask is coming off, a development we should all fear.
Painting mainly in oil and often in impasto, Sorensen’s portraits of political leaders and influencers depict moments in our unfolding democratic history that document its fragile and crumbling state, with a particular focus on obstructions to addressing the climate crisis. Her paintings at times adopt an almost sculptural form as they engage with the visceral qualities of the flesh and its emotionalised and performative expressions of power.
