Orlanda Broom

Degree: MA Fine Art
University: Winchester
Graduation Year: 1997

New Blood Art Commentary

Broom’s richly saturated paintings fuse exotic flora with intuitive abstraction. Since completing her MA in 1997, she has developed an unmistakable language of imagined ecosystems whose scale and colour have attracted major commissions - a 4 × 4 m centrepiece for the Four Seasons Downtown New York and multiple paintings for the award-winning Roseberry Lounge at Mandarin Oriental London.

Her work appears regularly in competitions such as the RA Summer Exhibition, Threadneedle Prize and NOAC with recent presentations including Saatchi Gallery’s “Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture” and exhibitions in London, Paris, Portugal, Cape Town and Mexico. Broom’s paintings sit firmly in the territory of serious contemporary collecting.

Artist Statement

I have two bodies of work: lush, exotic landscapes and contemporary abstract pieces. Connecting these bodies of work is a strong sense of colour, references to organic forms and the exploration of the mediums I work with. The abstract paintings are created through a process that involves no intervention with tools or brushes, just the flow and manipulation of the canvas and medium. There is an immediacy and freshness borne out of this way of working which is complementary to the layered aspect of my landscape painting technique. The landscapes are timeless places that are wild and abandoned, initial joyousness and allure is tempered by the sense of entrapment should you find yourself in such a place.