About lisa
Lisa Chandler is a New Zealand artist whose work investigates how people and places are transformed by social, environmental and historical forces. Drawing on personal observation and broader social narratives, she explores the ways communities respond to change, examining what is lost, what endures, and the traces people leave behind.
Working across painting, printmaking and collage, Chandler creates layered images that move between figuration and abstraction. Fragments of people, architecture and landscape emerge and dissolve within the picture surface, reflecting themes of memory, belonging, resilience and renewal. Her work invites reflection on the complex relationships between people, place and history, and the ways these connections continue to shape contemporary life.
BIOGRAPHY
Chandler holds an MFA (Hons) from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, Auckland. Since 2012 she has presented twelve solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in New Zealand and internationally. Her work has been exhibited in public art galleries throughout New Zealand and internationally in Singapore, China and Germany.
She has undertaken artist residencies in Singapore, China and Germany, including the Leipzig International Art Programme. From 2016 - 2019 she maintained a studio at the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei art hub, where she developed The Dividing Line, a major body of work exhibited in Leipzig, and subsequently in public art galleries throughout New Zealand.
Recent projects include What Remains, an ongoing exploration of personal, community and environmental loss, and The Tide, a collaboration with writer Helen E. Crampton examining the relationship between people, place and ever-changing coastal environments.
SELECTED CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Public Art Gallery exhibitions
What Remains, The Suter Art Gallery, Nelson (2025)
Landscapes of Loss, Hastings Art Gallery and Aratoi Museum of Art & History, Wairarapa (2022 - 2024)
The Dividing Line, touring exhibition at The Suter Art Gallery, Nelson; Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru; Whirinaki, Upper Hutt and Toi Tauranga Art Gallery (2019 - 2021)
Millennium Public Art Gallery, Blenheim (2016)
International Experience
Permanent studio at Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, Germany (2016 - 2019)
Leipzig International Art Programme residency, Germany (2016)
Selected for the 26th Leipziger Jahrestagsausstellung exhibition, Germany (2019)
Selected for the International Art Survey exhibition, Beijing, China (2014)
Red Gate Residency, Beijing, China (2014)
Instinc Residency, Singapore, supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation (2013)
Affective Landscapes Conference, University of Derby, England. Presented a paper on ‘Non-Places’ (2012)
Awards
New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award finalist (2015, 2018)
National Contemporary Art Award finalist (2015)
Molly Morpeth Canaday Art Award finalist (2012, 2014, 2015)
Reviews & Publications
Steve Austin, Art New Zealand, No. 198, review of What Remains (2026)
Andrew Paul Wood, EyeContact, review of The Dividing Line (2019)
View my full CV here
THE FACELESS, 2018, set of 150 canvas boards, 24 x 18cm each, part of The Dividing Line series