Lydia Janssen, b. 1976

USA

Lydia Janssen was born in Michigan, USA, and received a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, New York (1998). After graduating, she moved to New York City to pursue a professional dance career, dancing at the Merce Cunningham Studio School, and performing with modern dance troupes Pam Tanowitz Dance Company and Jordana Toback/POON Dance Company. 
 
Lydia's dance career ended after a knee injury, leading her to focus fully on her art. Lydia spent a year at the Graduate Fine Arts Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, before returning to New York to study at the Art Students League of New York (2005-07) under Larry Poons and Ronnie Landfield, where in her final year she won the prestigious Red Dot award for Excellence in Painting. In 2020, Lydia's first monograph, ‘Dance to Art’, written by Ian Findlay-Brown and published by SKIRA, was released, and launched at the Tate Modern (2021). After being selected into the 2021 London Art Biennale, Lydia won the Terme award: a group show at the Chianciano Museum in Italy. Lydia was most recently nominated for the 2023 Sovereign Asian Art Prize.
 
Lydia's work has been exhibited at the Chianciano Art Museum, Italy (2022), National Gallery Singapore Auction, Singapore (2022), London Art Biennale, UK (2021), COMO Ubud Bali, Indonesia, (2020), Susan Eley Fine Art Gallery (2019, 2014 Solo), REDSEA Gallery, Singapore (2018), The Asia Contemporary Art Fair, Hong Kong (2016), The Singapore Contemporary Art Fair, Singapore (2016), The American Club, Singapore (2015), The Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco Fair, California (2015), Cielo, New York City (2008); Mulhenberg College, Pennsylvania (2007); The Art Students League Gallery, NYC (2006), NACUL Center Gallery, MA (2005, Solo), Asian Fusion Gallery, New York City (2001); New York Academy of Art, NYC (1999); and The Sarah Lawrence College Gallery, NY (1998), among others.
 
Many of Lydia's paintings are in private collections in the US, Europe and Asia, most notably in the collection of Singaporean collector Koh Seow Chuan and in the permanent collection of the Chianciano Museum, Italy. Lydia is represented by the Susan Eley Fine Art Gallery in New York City and REDSEA Gallery in Singapore.