Laura Wenmaekers

About the artist

Laura Wenmaekers is a French and Portuguese painter born in 1996. Living in different European countries and exposed to a lot of history and wonderful cultures, she was drawn to art from a young age. Laura has studied art in the UK and in Paris in different schools and assisted a realist portrait artist for a year before joining the Florence Academy of Art (FAA) in 2017. Upon graduating in 2020, she was awarded the fourth-year prize as a graduate in residence and started teaching in the full time program. Now a Principal Instructor in FAA's Intermediate Painting Program, she exhibited in London, Lisbon, and Florence. Laura also holds workshops and private instruction at the Mimèsis Atelier, her Florence studio.

 

Practice & Approach

Through her paintings, she aims to present a wide spectrum of presence. Some works adopt more narrative and complex compositions, while others, such as the alla prima portraits, focus on simplicity, immediacy and the quiet beauty of a single face. Her intention is to transmit emotion and create space for the viewer to form a personal and intuitive connection with the subject. The academic method, with its rigorous study of form, volume, light and atmosphere, allows her work to exist within a sense of continuity with the Old Masters. She aims to create paintings that feel timeless, and do not follow temporary trends, but instead aspire to speak across generations through their technical solidity and emotional clarity.