Lisa Turns From Ballet To Collage

A ballet-dancer-turned-artist found inspiration in movement for her latest work, which is on display in Grassington. Addingham’s Lisa Hinds McConkey, once a professional ballet dancer in New York, will put on her first solo exhibition, in a joint venture with a Dales printers, at the Fractal Press Gallery, Wood Lane, Grassington, until Monday, March 15. Lisa, originally from Washington DC, gave up her career in ballet to take up art, and has shown here work as part of other exhibitions since the 1980s. Before the age of 18 she had accepted a full scholarship with the Joffrey School of Ballet, and then accepted a contract with the American Ballet Theatre II.

She left ballet to pursue art, later graduating from the Corcoran School of Art in Washington. She has lived in the Ilkley area for 12 years now. Lisa’s brightly coloured artwork, showing ladies in dresses in motion, depicts the joy of movement, and she has chosen to incorporate real fabric in her work, adding to the effect. She says she has always been drawn to collage and will use whatever materials necessary to create the desired colours and textures. Her solo show will include giclee montage – a term she coined herself to describe her present work, and she says she has always worked slightly outside convention and spearheaded alternative approaches to artwork. One of her projects stateside involved painting ten foot figures on clear plastic above the dance floor of a Washington DC club.

Source – Ilkley Gazette