Prolific talent ranging across media
L. Fahn R. has been a freelance artist since graduating from Massachusetts College of Art with a B.F.A in Graphic Design and Illustration in 1974. She studied painting, sculpture, and drawing at Carnegie Mellon University, Philadelphia College of Art, and Montserrat College of Art. ​
Over the past 20 years, L. Fahn R. has been an active contributor to LynnArts in Lynn, MA as a resident artist, critique group leader, gallery show hanger, and teacher for gifted and talented students. Her work has been shown in over 10 group shows in the LynnArts gallery. ​The artist has shown her work in roughly 30 art shows. At least 10 of these were one-woman shows -- held at Wentworth Institute of Technology, Newton Free Library, Virginia Carten Gallery, Marblehead Arts Association, and more.​
The artist has dived into new media without fear for roughly 50 years. These media include ink, pastel, charcoal, acrylic paint, wood and found-object sculpture, and cut paper. She finds inspiration in architecture, the human form, nature, and indigenous, Chinese, and African cultures.
About the Artist
CUT PAPER
Creating the illusion of metal
As a guest at L. Fahn R.'s studio, watching new visitors enter is more than exhilarating. Eyes widen, mouths drop open, and the word, "wow" is always uttered. While the artist humbly shares that she is "mildly obsessed with paper," visitors work to make sense of these giant sculptures with a sense of wonder. Painted to look like metal, each hand-cut piece is light enough to hang on a single nail. The architectural shapes and weathered surface treatments offer a sleek and modern appearance.
REVERSE PAINTING
ON PLASTIC
Shimmer of thinking backwards
Putting a new spin on the old technique of reverse painting on glass, L. Fahn R. developed a process of reverse painting on transparent plastic using acrylics. The artist recalls how her "love affair" with this medium was inspired by an exhibit of kites hanging under skylights at the DeCordova Museum. She was enamored with the seemingly transparent patterns and vivid colors of sea kelp and stitched oak leaves.
The artist's vivid color choices, confident brush strokes, and thoughtful layering are complemented by the plastic's appearance of a thick, shiny varnish. She has mastered abstract, geometric patterns, nature, landscapes, and the human form using this technique.
PORTRAITS
Feminine beauty and complexity
Since first picking up a pencil, L. Fahn R. has captured the human form in nearly every medium, including oil, ink, pastel, charcoal, acrylic, collage, wood, clay, and more. In her early years, she used a literal approach in portraying faces and bodies. As the years passed, her style grew abstract and playful. In all phases, the work has illustrated the artist's deep empathy for others' pain and her appreciation for their beauty and emotional complexity.
TOWNS & CITIES
A passion for architecture
L. Fahn R.'s brilliance for creating patterns is overwhelmingly present in her works that capture buildings, towns, and cities. The artist has demonstrated her deep respect for architectural marvels while using cut paper, pastel, ink, acrylics, and more. The eye cannot help but continuously move around each piece, tracing connections between windows, doors, and buildings.
