Lola Montes (b. 1981, New York, NY) is a multidisciplinary artist whose work consists of painting, sculpture, film, and design. She received her BFA in 2008 from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and is based in Sicily and Milan, Italy.
Montes’ practice draws on metaphors from her own mythology. She works with the unconscious to create psychic images that consist of timeless patterns, creating an exquisite order. By painting the subject’s spirit, she translates a primitive timelessness into other realities.
Montes’ work has been exhibited at the Ludwig Museum, Koblenz, Germany; Tripoli Gallery, Wainscott, NY; Vito Schnabel Gallery, New York, NY; Nilufar Gallery, Milan, Italy; Labor Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico; Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens, Greece; Zuecca Projects at the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; The Hole, New York, NY; and at Nomad Design Fair (St. Moritz and Capri), among others.
She serves on the Board of Advisors for Anthology Film Archives and has directed music videos for Lou Reed, Benjamin Clementine, and Nike. Montes has also directed short films on fellow artists Luigi Ontani, Rene Ricard, Jonas Mekas, and Vahakn Arslanian, and Julian Schnabel. Her design work includes textiles for Alice & Olivia, Zac Posen, and Max Mara, furniture (tables, stools, candelabras, and more) and album covers for John Frusciante.