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She/ Her
Lara Askari-Ugarte is a self-taught queer artist of mixed heritage based in London. Working primarily with watercolour and acrylic, she creates expressive portraits that celebrate her community through a distinctive balance of abstraction, detail, and personal observation.
After initially developing her practice through reinterpretations of other artists’ work, Askari-Ugarte gradually established her own visual language. Her portraits combine abstract backgrounds with carefully rendered impressions of loved ones, creating images that feel both intimate and playful. Rather than focusing exclusively on the face, she often draws attention to elements such as hair, clothing, musical instruments, and personal objects. These details become a way of revealing personality while preserving a degree of anonymity, allowing identity to emerge through gesture, colour, and the objects people choose to carry with them.
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