We were lucky to catch up with Lot Winther recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lot, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

At the moment, I’m working on an exhibition under the name “Hall of Femme” with an artist colleague. We’re portraying the most influential women that are writing feministic history in Denmark today. The idea came a year ago, as I frequently found myself lost in discussions about feminism, because I felt the inequality but didn’t quite have the arguments or numbers to add to the discussion. I had a vision of an exhibition filling a room with arguments through portraits, personal and professional stories and across various professions. One thing led to another, and along the way, I invited a colleague to join and document the process with me. Now, we’ve arranged 20 out of 50 meetings with these women fighting in different fields from sex education to politics to arts – and these meetings are opening my horizon SO much. I love seeing the people behind their fame as well as the personal struggles, but most of all, being able to acknowledge them for their incredible work. We expect the exhibition to take place in 2-3 years, and so far in my art career, it’s the most meaningful work I’ve ever come across.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’ve always been creative. I come from a farm in the middle of nowhere, and as kids, we were always encouraged to follow our ideas and follow them through. The grownups would never do the hard work for us, but rather advise us in what to do. I think the time and space was my biggest asset to discover my creativity. As I grew older and learned about my artistic and entrepreneurial background, I started working in design, but eventually shifted to visual arts. It had a freedom to it, fashion design couldn’t give me. It was a difficult and suddenly very vulnerable process to start sharing my art, but as I grew more comfortable with it, I started to have a lot of fun. I never know where an idea takes me. On the other hand, I could apply my entrepreneurial skills to grow a community with colleagues and encouragement. I experimented with my brush and line, as one should when starting from scratch – and I tried different approaches to making a living from my art. I eventually did, but I realized purpose was more important to me than money. I was hungry for adventures and deep processes in the creative stuff – the kind you just can’t get when making a living off commissions. So I got some freelance gigs and eventually a full time job that gave me safety and energy to explore my artistic voice. It’s given me access to incredible residencies, primarily in Latin America, but also in Denmark and Egypt – and many more to come. Earlier this year, I was on an expedition in Atacama, which I will never forget. Slowing down in my art process has given me time to grow with my purpose around feminine liberation. Now, I work on long term projects, but I also have plenty of time to just play with media and paint whenever I feel inspired. I sell from time to time, but I’m not dependent on it, and that has made my pieces progressively better especially in the past year.
I connect femininity with water, which is very clear in my pieces. The water always represents my current state of emotions, and the female figures on canvas represent me. It’s such a light way to process my own personal growth while acknowledging the beauty of it.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My art has the purpose of bringing people together in a space where all forces fall down and the natural open mind and compassion comes forward, allowing connection to flourish. The intention with my art is to lead the viewer from reflection into transformation, regardless of the stage they’re at. I see too much polarization and judgement in all sorts of debates, and I enjoy challenging people to be open to other points of views through my work.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think people tend to think of creatives as only creatives within a medium. The much too often hidden truth is that we’re outsiders in society. We fit in nowhere and also everywhere, depending on our luck. Creatives are forced to be creative in all aspects of our lives. Most of us aren’t funded or famous, we’re hustlers, and we have to not only think about our artistic work, but also financing it, reaching art institutions, collectors and customers. We have to finance and plan our career plans, often alone, as well as our current lives. I’ve become so accustomed to parallel planning, that I have a hard time understanding the non-creatives lives just going to work and “being taken care of” there. We have all roles in our business, and we’ve had to acquire some skills along the way. I think many people often underestimate our skillsets and the fact that painting is usually the least of what we do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lotwinther.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotwintherstudio/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lotwintherstudio