Shiver
Lauryn (Red) Welch
Andrea Festa Fine Art inaugurates the solo exhibition, Shiver by Lauryn (Red) Welch. The exhibition explores the themes of the realisation of self through nature in its nocturnal amplitude; a surprising dialogue with the subliminal that unexpectedly arrives , yet unquestionably awaits, like a sneaking twilight.
For the occasion, 12 oil and cyanotype paintings are on display. The opening ceremony is on April 1st, from 6 to 9 p.m., and the exhibition runs through May 7th, 2025, at Lungotevere degli Altoviti 1, Rome.
For the occasion, 12 oil and cyanotype paintings are on display. The opening ceremony is on April 1st, from 6 to 9 p.m., and the exhibition runs through May 7th, 2025, at Lungotevere degli Altoviti 1, Rome.
The exhibition marks Welch’s first solo show in Italy. It combines a collection of narrative paintings that navigate the fragile threshold between perception, love, wonder, and also sublime anxiety.
At the heart of Shiver is an exploration of liminality—the eerie, fragile space between presence and absence, knowing and unknowing. Welch’s paintings capture the tension of fleeting encounters, dreamlike landscapes, and personal mythologies. References to literature, cinema, and New England and Balkan folklore are woven together through recurring imagery of night walks, spectral figures, shifting skies, and the quiet, guiding presence of birds. Even the cyanotype skeleton of each painting shifts in and out of that which can be named, the paint interacting with the sun-exposed surface in a shiver of recognition that vanishes as quickly as it appears.
Welch’s practice is rooted in the interplay of light, color, and storytelling. Each painting in Shiver unfolds like a cinematic fragment ala David Lynch, where diaristic narratives coalesce into hauntingly atmospheric compositions. From the rippling, unstructured night of Red Walker to the mythological personified illness of Vrykolakas, Welch’s imagery invites viewers to lean into existential uncertainty and feel held in the vulnerability of not knowing.
A graduate of CUNY Hunter College (MFA, 2023) and SUNY Purchase College (BFA, 2015), Welch has exhibited widely in the United States, including at Half Gallery (New York), PM/AM (London), and The Ranch (Montauk). Their work has been featured in Hyperallergic, New American Paintings, and The New York Times. Lauryn Welch’s work has been acquired by such private collections as The Green Family Foundation and Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection.
A graduate of CUNY Hunter College (MFA, 2023) and SUNY Purchase College (BFA, 2015), Welch has exhibited widely in the United States, including at Half Gallery (New York), PM/AM (London), and The Ranch (Montauk). Their work has been featured in Hyperallergic, New American Paintings, and The New York Times. Lauryn Welch’s work has been acquired by such private collections as The Green Family Foundation and Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection.
