BIOGRAPHY:
Dr Lola Frost is an artist and a scholar who lives in London and Cape Town. She was born in Bloemfontein and educated at the University of Stellenbosch (BA Graphic Art) and Rhodes University (MFA). Between1982 and 2001, in solo and group shows in Stellenbosch, Grahamstown, Durban and Johannesburg she exhibited her paintings which were acquired for the art collections of the Universities of Stellenbosch, Rhodes University and the Durban University of Technology, as well as of private collectors, and the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Durban Art Gallery, Tatham Art Gallery and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum. As a lecturer/senior lecturer in art history and art theory in the Art Department, Technikon Natal, Durban from 1990 to 2001, she contributed to South African visual art culture in reviews, exhibitions, conference papers and symposia.
After moving to the UK in 2001, she was awarded a joint Theory/Practice PhD from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2007 on the topic of Negativity in Painting. She was the Leverhulme artist-in-residence in War Studies King’s College London in 2014/15. Her solo exhibitions - Pulse at Keynes College Gallery, University of Kent 2001, Coming Alive at The Clerkenwell Gallery 2013, Taking Risks 2014 and Going South 2015 at Somerset House, King’s College London, A Dilating Gaze at the London School of Economics 2016, Living the Fold at The Edward Street Gallery, University of Brighton 2017; and Towards Deep and Radiant Time at The Arcade, King’s College London 2018, offered audiences a lifeworld beyond power.
As a Visiting Fellow in War Studies, King’s College London, from 2016 to 2026, and a Visiting Fellow at The Centre for Law, Art and Humanities at ANU Canberra in 2019, in presentations, collaborations, conference papers and published articles she addressed the interface between art and war; art and compassion; the politics and ethics of aesthetic risk; and how the de-territorialising ethics of Aboriginal Dream-Painting intersect with the power/knowledge interests of representational democracy. More recently she has done research on the topic of art and hidden violence against women in South Africa and published an article in the ‘After Rights’ special issue of the International Journal of Human Rights 2024 on how the work of art does its pluralising and constitutive work beside and beyond rights.
For access to Lola Frost’s paper titled ‘The work of art, beside and beyond rights’ published in the International Journal of Human Rights in 2023 please use this online link:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642987.2023.2259811
CONTACT:
lola.frost@btinternet.com
CURRICULUM VITAE:
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Dr Lola Frost
Personal Information:
Nationality: British and South African. Date of birth: 13 March 1950
Qualifications:
PhD Visual Arts, Goldsmiths College, University of London, United Kingdom, 2007
MFA Painting, Rhodes University, South Africa, 1985
BA Graphic Art, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1971
Teaching Posts:
Visiting lecturer, Historical Context of Art and Design, Working Men’s College, London, 2007-2012
Part time Art Theory Senior Lecturer, Fine Art Department, Technikon Natal, 1995-2002
Art History and Art Theory lecturer, Fine Art Department, Technikon Natal, 1990-1995
Drawing Tutor, Architecture Department, University of Natal, 1987-1989
Art History Lecturer, Fine Art Department, Rhodes University, 1986
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Residencies and Fellowships:
Visiting Fellow: War Studies, King’s College London. 2016-2026
Visiting Fellow: Centre for Law, Art and Humanities, Law School, Australian National University Canberra, 2019
Visiting Fellow: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, 2019
Leverhulme Artist in Residence, War Studies, King’s College London, September 2014 to June 2015
Exhibitions:
Solo:
Towards Deep and Radiant Time. The Arcade at Bush House: King’s College London Cultural Programming, Strand, London. 2018
Living the Fold. Cappe, Adriana Cavarero Conference, Edward Street Gallery, University of Brighton. 2017
A Dilating gaze. Clement House, London School of Economics. 2015
Going South. Somerset House East Wing, King’s College London, 2015
Taking Risks. Somerset House East Wing, King’s College London, 2014
Coming Alive. Frameless Gallery, London, 2013
PhD Degree Show. Goldsmiths College, Visual Art Department, University of London, 2007
Keynes College Art Gallery. University of Kent at Canterbury. 2000
NSA Gallery. Durban, 1996
Rhodes University Art School Gallery. Grahamstown, 1996
Technikon Natal Art Gallery. Durban, 1993
Thompson Gallery. Johannesburg, 1993
Natal Society of the Arts. Durban, 1987
1820 Settlers Museum. Grahamstown, 1981
Group:
Reconciliations: Knapp Gallery, Regents Park University, London. 2018/19
Carnivale curate-a-space: Durban Art Gallery. 2017
Geohumanities online exhibition. 2016. https://geohumanities.net/2016/06/08/lola-frost/
LGBT Art Trail. Keynes College, University of Kent at Canterbury. 2015
1910 – 2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective. Iziko South African National Gallery. Cape Town, 2010
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. London, 1997
Cape Town Triennale. Cape Town, 1991
Sud del Mundo. Cape Town and Johannesburg, 1990
Collections:
Durban Art Gallery: Johannesburg Art Gallery: Tatham Art Gallery, Pietermaritzburg: King George V Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth: Newcastle Carnegie Art Gallery, Kwa-Zulu Natal: Rhodes University Alumni Collection: University of Stellenbosch Collection: University of Natal Collection.
Commissions:
Portrait Ingrid Berdal, 2023
Portrait of Archbishop Hurley: Vice Chancellor of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, 1995
Portrait of Tex Harris: US Consul, 1992
Publications:
The work of art, beside and beyond rights. After Rights? Special Issue. International Journal of Human Rights. Taylor and Francis Group. 2023
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Going South: Traversal and Attunement in Painting. GeoHumanities Journal, Taylor and Francis, London and New York. 2015.
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‘Compassion as Risk’ in The Politics of Compassion. eds. Michael Ure and Mervyn Frost, Routledge, London, 2014
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Aesthetics and Politics. Global Society, Vol.24, No3, Routledge, London. July 2010
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Negativity in Painting, PhD thesis, Senate House Library, University of London. London 2007
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Jeremy Wafer Artist’s Book. David Krut Publishing. Johannesburg 2001
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Checking one another’s credentials in Grey Areas: Representation, Identity and Politics in Contemporary South Africa. eds. Brenda Atkinson and Candice Breitz, Chalkham Hill Press. Johannesburg, 1999
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Papers and Public Lectures:
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Sexual Freedom in Aesthetic life. The Sexual Politics of Freedom Conference: Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway. 17-18 September 2020.
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Towards a Sensate Critique of Violence: CRIPT Interdisciplinary Perspectives on War and Violence, University of St Andrews. November 2019.
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Dream Painting and De-Territorialising Democratic Politics. ANU Centre for Law the Arts and Humanities: Workshop 22 August 2019:
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Dream Painting and De-Territorialising Democratic Politics. University of Queensland: Visual Politics seminar. 26th August 2019.
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Substitute-selves and Trauma. Australian Defence Force Academy Canberra: War and Art workshop, 29 August 2019.
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An ethics of difference: from de-territorialising the sublime to contesting drone warfare? BISA conference paper, London. June 2019.
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Lab Talks KZNSA: Masterclass Lola Frost. April 2019.
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The Flesh of the World. Dr Anna Marazuela Kim in conversation with Lola Frost and Edmund Clark for the 2017/18 IAS Vulnerability Series at UCL. April 2018.
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Cognitive failures in art. Failure and Denial in World Politics: Millennium Conference, London School of Economics. 18 October 2015.
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Resilience in painting: Gender Recalled Workshop. Department of Media, Culture and Creative Industries, King’s College London. 30 June 2015.
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Aesthetic Risk: an artist’s perspective. Values of art Conference: Humanities Research Centre. Department of Philosophy, Sheffield University. 20 June 2015.
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Going South: traversal and attunement in painting. Spaces of Attunement: Life, Matter and the Dance of Encounters. Cardiff University. 30 March 2015
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The Sublime South: feminist identities and aesthetic reflexivity in contemporary South African art. ISA Presidential Panel: Global IR and Regional Worlds: A New Agenda for International Feminist IR Today. New Orleans. 19 February 2015
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Risk, Sexuality and Politics: Leverhulme Artist in Residence collaboration with Prof Marysia Zalewski, Department of War Studies, King’s College London. 11 February 2015
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Labial Politics: Risk, Sexuality and Politics in Art. LGBT Art trail, Keynes College, University of Kent at Canterbury. 9 February 2015
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Underrating Risks? Piano performance by Gareth Owen of Schubert’s Sonata in a minor D784 and Leverhulme Artist in Residence collaboration with Prof Ned Lebow, Department of Music, King’s College London. 3 December 2014
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Drones, Ethics, Aesthetics and Risk. Artist in Residence and panel discussion for Technological Innovation and Challenges to International Law. Safra Lecture Theatre, King’s College London. 24 November 2014
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Cybernetic Risk and Aesthetic Free Play: Leverhulme Artist in Residence collaboration with Prof Thomas Rid. Department of War Studies, King’s College London. 3 November 2014
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Aesthetic Risk and Security Risks: Leverhulme Artist in Residence collaboration with Dr Claudia Aradau. Somerset House East Wing, King’s College London. 22 October 2014
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Whose Sublime: Aesthetics and the International. What does the aesthetic want from us and IR? BISA Art &Politics Working Group Workshop. Warwick University. 1 September 2014
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Aesthetic Free Play and Becoming. Toward New Global Imaginaries: Feminist Thinking on Creativity and Imagination as Social Resources. ISA Conference, Montreal, Canada, March 2011 and also at the Critical Political Theory Conference, Essex University, June 2011
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Free Play and Becoming. Lecture at the Michaelis School of Art, University of Cape Town, South Africa. 2011
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The Political Life of Art. Symposium: Aesthetics and Politics, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, June 2010
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Compassion and Politics. Joint paper at workshop on Compassion and Politics. Monash University, Prato, Italy. 2009
Aesthetics and Politics. Workshop for Aesthetics and International Relations: Exploring the Frontiers of Visual and Cultural Politics. Birmingham University, UK. 2009
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Art’s Double Politics. Visual and Performing Arts Department, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2009
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Art and the Political. ‘Challenge’ Workshop, Luberon, France, 2008