Artist Lily Stockman has spent the last year engrossed in a virtual love affair. Instead of scrolling through social media aimlessly before bed, Stockman spends her evenings studying photos and videos of Maison La Roche, a Le Corbusier-designed home in Paris’s 16th Arrondissement. She is preparing for her show “Minotaur,” which opens at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Stockman delved deep into various resources to understand the essence of Maison La Roche, from Instagram stories to books and photographs. The home, completed in 1925, was designed for Raoul La Roche to house his collection of purist and cubist works. The architect’s meticulous attention to geometric forms and color palettes fascinated Stockman, who found herself fully engaged with the architecture for the first time in her career.
Having studied at Harvard where she encountered Le Corbusier’s Carpenter Center, Stockman has a unique perspective on Maison La Roche. In her studio, she keeps a model of the building with miniature versions of her oil paintings affixed to its walls, representing her 11 works for the show.
Each of Stockman’s canvases responds to a unique environment within the house, mirroring its formal qualities. For example, “Metronome” is designed to capture the afternoon light in a specific way, allowing energy to flow through the composition. Stockman drew inspiration from Le Corbusier’s late murals and collages, appreciating the departure from his usual architectural dogma.
Despite the long process of creating the show, Stockman is already looking ahead to her next exhibition in Rome. She describes it as the biggest space she has ever shown in, hinting at the beginning of a new artistic journey.
