This October, REDSEA Gallery welcomes Australian artist Lauren Wilhelm to Singapore for Liminality, her first solo exhibition in Asia.
With nearly 40 solo and group exhibitions across Australia, Europe and the United States, Wilhelm has developed a distinctive visual language that brings together classical portraiture, contemporary life, memory and the natural world.
The title Liminality speaks to a state of being in-between — a threshold between one place and another, the past and the present, the remembered and the imagined. It is a fitting context for Wilhelm’s quietly compelling paintings, where contemplative figures, animals and landscapes inhabit worlds that feel familiar yet difficult to place.
Drawing inspiration from history, classical imagery and the overlooked narratives of everyday life, Wilhelm is particularly interested in the emotions that sit beneath the surface.
“Melancholy is a sweet, deep feeling and most of my paintings try to capture that elusive emotion — a longing for something that may or may not have ever existed.”
A New Body of Work
Created over the past year, Liminality reflects a subtle shift in Wilhelm’s practice. Lighter, more colourful and perhaps more optimistic than some of her previous work, the paintings are strongly influenced by the artist’s surroundings. Wilhelm lives and works on 35 acres of Australian bushland, where her studio is surrounded by trees, open space, wild birds and kangaroos.
Nature is not simply a backdrop within her paintings. Animals and birds recur as important motifs, gently challenging the idea that the human figure should always occupy the centre of the story.
“I use them as a motif to remind us that we’re all earthlings, all as important as each other.”
Painting by Instinct
Working primarily in oil on fine Italian linen, Wilhelm approaches painting intuitively. Rather than beginning with a fixed composition, a work may start with the relationship between two colours or with an emotion she wants the finished painting to hold. The imagery often comes later.
This instinctive process gives Wilhelm’s paintings their particular sense of stillness and ambiguity. Narratives remain deliberately unresolved, allowing viewers to bring their own memories and interpretations to what they see.
Humanity, Memory & the Natural World
Underlying Wilhelm’s practice is a philosophy of peace, contemplation and connection to the natural environment. In a world increasingly filled with noise and distraction, Liminality offers a moment of stillness — an invitation to pause and consider our relationship with memory, nature and one another.
“I hope viewers find a sense of wistfulness or pensive reflection in my work. I invite the viewer to consider the fragile relationship between humanity, memory and the natural world, and to come up with their own unique and personal interpretations.”
LAUREN WILHELM | LIMINALITY
REDSEA Gallery Singapore
October 2026
