Slowing Down to Meet You Better
For the past six years, I've lived at a crazy pace. Art fairs, exhibitions, opening nights, trips back and forth between France, Portugal, Italy, Belgium… I loved every moment of that time: discovering new audiences, showing my paintings in places I never could have imagined, receiving awards that gave me a confidence I didn't have at the start. It was exhilarating, and I don't regret any of it.
But this year, I felt something needed to change.
I'm not the only one feeling this need to slow down. Journalist Carl Honoré even built a movement around it with his book In Praise of Slow: a call to step outside the cult of speed and performance, and find a truer relationship with time. This isn't about giving up or slowing down out of exhaustion. It's simply choosing, more consciously, where I put my time and energy.
I know the art world better today. I know what an exhibition costs in energy, time and attention, and I also know what it doesn't always give back. Above all, I know you better: you who have sometimes followed me for years, who come to my openings, who write to me, who leave with a painting under your arm or simply with a kind word. That relationship is one I want to nurture differently than by crossing paths at a crowded fair.
So this year, I made a choice: no more large outside exhibitions that drain all my energy. Instead, I'd rather welcome you at home, in my studio in Ericeira, where we can really talk, look closely at a painting, take our time.
A more intimate rhythm, not a smaller one
Slowing down doesn't mean doing less, it means doing things differently. I keep painting, searching, exploring new colours. I'm simply more deliberate about who I share this work with, and how. That's why I now host Open House Gallery & Studio days at home, rather than running from fair to fair. The next one will be on Saturday 5 December.
And for those who aren't nearby, I also offer a private virtual visit of the studio: a WhatsApp video call, for example, where I show you around and we look at the paintings together, just for the pleasure of a visit. Of course, it's always better in person, but when that's not possible, a video call is still a shared moment! All it takes is agreeing on a time together.
MARY sessions also continue: small-group moments of creative reconnection, where the encounter matters more than performance.
And slowing down gives me back something essential: time to paint, search and experiment without immediately thinking about the next exhibition.
I don't yet know everything this new rhythm will teach me, but I already know it suits me better. And I can't wait to keep sharing my work with you differently: more closely, more slowly, and above all with the time to truly meet.
With all my warmth,
Lenon B
Contemporary painter, Ericeira, Portugal