Artist Lilli Lanier
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"Because I had the children I chose to have my studio in my home. I wanted them to understand my work and learn how to work." — Ruth Asawa
Kelly Ann Brown’s passion for the arts was lifelong. She majored in art history in college and her bookshelves were always lined with the works of master artists like Mary Cassatt. Her godmother, Janice Lowry, was a talented artist whose work adorned Kelly’s walls and whose journals were acquired in July 2009 by The Smithsonian Archives of American Art. With that in mind, Kelly Ann Brown Foundation (KABF) director/chair, Debra Hannula, met with Lilli Lanier and Lola Herrera in February of 2019. Lilli Lanier was born and raised in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. She is the granddaughter of renowned artist, Ruth Asawa, who is known for her elaborate wire sculptures, which can be seen in the permanent collection of the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Ruth’s beautiful fountains, including The Mermaid in Ghirardelli Square, are found throughout the city, earning her the nickname “The Fountain Lady of San Francisco.” Lilli grew up in a house across the street from Ruth and began assisting her grandmother on projects and workshops as a teenager. For the past fifteen years, in addition to her art, Lilli has been working as a teaching artist in the San Francisco Unified School District as well as for Alameda County’s Juvenile Justice Center and its Office of Education. Lilli works in a variety of mediums including origami, paint, wood, clay and metal. Lilli still lives in Noe Valley with her two children and counts her parents, aunts, uncles and cousins among her neighbors. Lilli wanted to showcase her art in her family’s neighborhood and chose Lola’s art gallery. Lola Herrera, dubbed the “Textile Queen of Noe Valley,” is a local artist as well as gallery owner. Each piece Lola creates is a wearable work of art, many of them hand painted and all made from luxurious textiles. Lola was thrilled to co-curate Lilli’s show at her art gallery with the Kelly Ann Brown Foundation. For the month of September in 2019, the gallery showcased a variety of Lilli’s work including her large origami portraits, origami squares, origami earrings and origami mandalas. Lilli’s one-of-a-kind portraits emerged from her love of Japanese origami, which she started folding when she was just three years old. Many of her portraits are 40 x 50 inches, consisting of 10,000 pieces of folded origami. Lilli finds inspiration in people like her grandmother Ruth, Steph Curry and Frida Kahlo whose lives have uplifted others. She’s currently working on an origami portrait of the “Notorious RBG.” For opening night, September 6, we invited all the art museums in San Francisco as well as many people who attended Ruth Asawa’s memorial, including Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi. All the museums responded positively to Lilli’s art, including the de Young Museum, the Asian Art Museum, and SF MOMA. Oakland Museum of Art’s gift shop buyer loved her work so much he reached out to Lilli afterwards to have her art be sold in their shop. Unfortunately, though understandably, Ms. Pelosi was held up in Washington DC and unable to attend. A few weeks after the opening September 24, her aide personally called KABF director/chair, Debra Hannula, to say that they loved all the photos of Lilli’s art, and try as she might Madame Speaker will be regretfully unable to return to San Francisco in September to see Lilli’s show. In the background of this call from a turned down radio, Ms. Pelosi could be heard announcing the beginning of the impeachment inquiry. In this moment, we could feel Kelly — art lover and political consultant — working her magic. Thanks, Kell. |
Origami portraits of Frida Kahlo, Steph Curry, and Ruth Asawa, by Lilli Lanier
“I grew up folding origami with my grandma, aunts and great grandma and I enjoy continuing our family traditions. I like the geometric patterns and limitless possibilities origami offers. I also find it meditative and relaxing to fold origami."
-- Lilli Lanier 
(l-r) Gallery Owner Lola Herrera, Artist Lilli Lanier, & KABF Board Chair Debra Hannula
Setting up Lilli's exhibit: Lola Herrera, Lilli, and her brother, Max Lanier
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For more information on Lilli and her art, visit www.lillilanier.com. Lola’s creations can be viewed at: www.lolasanfrancisco.com.