Tristram Lansdowne

Lansdowne explores the various traditions of framing within the art historical canon – from the illusionism found in the murals of Pompeii, the realism of Flemish Renaissance painting, the techniques of American neoclassicism, and others.

Part verdant jungle, part Art Deco wallpaper, Lansdowne’s interiors combine the comforts of modern furniture with the adventure and intrigue of imaginative plant life. His sources draw from design websites, real estate listings, and product advertisements, modified in a way that produces exciting and intricate settings. His interiors are both inviting and unwelcoming, appealing and foreboding; critiquing the superficial nature of luxury real estate.

From his fascination with flying to his desire to see the world in its totality from space, [Jim] Adams’s decades-long art pursuit seems as much about the scope of his journey as a Black man moving through time and mapping the coordinates of pleasure and meaning as it is about the paintings those experiences have produced. This is the visual literacy we need to engage now, so that instead of performing allyship through what’s trending, viewers come to understand how Black diasporic people, and specifically, one Black man, might interpret identity and mobility vis-à-vis painting.

What better place to come down from a trip than within the cozy home of Tristam Lansdowne’s New Horizons I, where we admire the city from afar within the protective interior of neo-hippie modernism. Here, perhaps all that remains of our wild adventure are the ceramic vases perched on the fireplace, reminiscent of the magic cacti, now neutralized. Grab the pillows and lie down on the couch; the hyper-activity of your brain deserves a rest. 

The artist’s depiction of landscape is a subjective experience of the outdoors, a cultural and psychological construct.

Nothing is more engaging than fantasy. When at the height of imagination, we are capable of conjuring rational or unrealistic scenarios based purely on our own desires. The possibility, in combination with perceived actuality, defines existence. We are composed of things known and experienced, and that which can be imagined, which is eminently apparent in the paintings of Tristram Lansdowne. Drawing from the familiar visual cues, palettes and landscapes of his upbringing, yet drawn to imaginary exploration, Lansdowne’s environments reflect a surreal blend of otherworldly structures and recognizable, ever nostalgic elements.

If his work looks like your dusty Yes album jackets or the cover art of those Arthur C. Clarkes you toss aside in the used-book bin, it's for good reason; like them, artist Tristram Lansdowne is deeply concerned about the future. In his paintings, citrine glass biodomes are nestled among mountain peaks, volcanoes belch lavender plumes, and tidy concrete platforms negotiate cliff faces in as surefooted a way as Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.