Freedom is a Mental State Painting

Internationally award-winning, Olivier Lamboray (1968) is a Belgian Surrealist painter who currently lives in Germany. He has been painting since 1992 and has had many successful exhibitions in Belgium, USA, Monaco, Australia, Italy, England, Germany, France, Thailand, The Netherlands, Indonesia, and Guinea. Painting is my journey and it really defines who I am. Surrealism is at the heart of Belgian culture and since a very young age, I have been fascinated by the magical feeling of the surreal dream. I have been painting for the last 30 years and have traveled the world for many years, living mostly in isolated places, from the Himalayan range to an almost deserted island in the Andaman Sea. Often these were places where time seemed to have stopped and where I could only face my inner self and connect my vision and thoughts inwards to the vital questions. A riddle to solve to find meaning. A path full of experiences, that have progressively shaped my goals and my vision of life but also myself. An intricate maze through the darkness of the mind… And it paved the way to brighten the rest of my life. Over the years, I have developed a very personal style, classical but inviting and full of surprises. It is always positive, nostalgic at times but full of love. Stories from my heart. It pictures a world where I feel really good, where the sky is always blue, where I forget about the reality and the roughness of this world and the gravity that drags us down. I like to levitate elements, to mix things, to romance my stories, to embrace Love like a half-hidden, half-perceived secret. The settings become half-present and half-imaginary, appearing and disappearing, reflecting the impermanence of life and the groundless ground of reality. Is it only a dream, a thought, or a mental construction? Addressing different levels of perception, my style highlights the importance of the spectator and his role in the understanding of this world. Evaporating elements or bricks on some of the walls allow to see through the present and take people to what seems to be another time in space. The evolution of the place itself, from the origin of life to the present moment. Same place, different time. Seeing through the curtain of reality sends me to other times in space and past stories. This brings up feelings that we cannot always understand, those “déjà vu” feelings that we feel deep inside but do not know where they come from or when. The infinity of the soul.