Karl Lorenz, Burn #2, 2024. Image courtesy of the artist.
Karl Lorenz
Gallery 3
Friday 18 April - Sunday 11 May
Opening Thursday 17 April, 6pm-8pm
Pizza Box Studio is the concept behind an ongoing series of paintings created with just four colours, some brushes and a cardboard box. This minimalist, mobile practice distils painting to its essence—accessible, immediate, and easily carried into daily life.
Using a 24x24 cm pizza box as a studio, Karl Lorenz combines the constraints of limited materials with unlimited, spontaneous environments. This process has rekindled Karl’s love for painting from life, stripping away distractions and reconnecting with raw observation. The work explores the illusion of space and light, a pursuit that has captivated painters for centuries.
Karl begins each painting with direct observation, then transitions to working from memory, abstracting landscapes into imagined spaces that feel both real and deeply personal. Once mounted and framed, these small-scale works are elevated from their humble pizza box origins to refined, gallery-ready pieces.
The artist makes the paintings and frames, embracing the inevitable human marks of the process. Visible brushstrokes, irregularities in the wood, and tactile details add to the authenticity and intimacy of the series. The act of making—cutting, sanding, painting, and assembling—reflects a belief in craftsmanship and his connection to each piece.
The landscapes in this series exist between familiarity and dreams—a fusion of observed truth and creative invention. Though intimate in scale, they depict vast, deep-space landscapes, inviting viewers to experience both the personal and the infinite.
At a reflective point in life, Karl moved from Perth to Canberra in 2024, rediscovering the joy of painting through the Brindabellas and shifting seasons. Pizza Box Studio is a celebration of renewed energy, curiosity, and the timeless act of looking and making.
