Lisa Lorenzini’s The Unexpected Time series debuted at its inaugural event on June 20, 2024 at FUA-AUF’s Palazzi Community Center located at Via Ricasoli, 21.

The sprawling exhibition was recently replaced by the current "Tiny Florence" student exhibit on the walls of Corridoio Fiorentino. It featured a collection of work that spans over 20 years in the artist's career. From a simple blend of primary colors to dark and moody monochromatic pieces, The Unexpected Time series features intertwined couples as the subject. The exhibition is themed around many different elements, but all represent the spirit of the city. The opening event also featured poetry recitals and an invitation for the community to gather and get to know the artist and appreciate the local art.

As a part of Corridoio Fiorentino's series of summer art exhibits, Lorenzi’s exhibition epitomizes the school’s commitment to cultural immersion and integration. Summer study abroad students, Catherine Perez-Strohmeyer and Alexa Feldman helped organize and curate the exhibit as a part of their SPEL Gallery Assistant Internship program. With three weeks to prepare for the event, the interns met with Lorenzini to learn more about her process and vision. This allowed them to create an exhibition statement and decide how to effectively display Lorenzi's collection.

“It feels great just to go from like a blank wall and a crappy Photoshop edit to something physical that people can see,” Perez-Strohmeyer said. “I feel relieved [and] I feel satisfied.”

Lorenzini earned an art degree from the Art Institute of Florence before studying at the Minneapolis College of Arts and Design. Lorenzini’s experience studying abroad allows her to further understand the University's mission and relate to students on a deeper level.

“This is a very nice condition of exchange,” Lorenzini commented.

Lorenzini was originally a graphic designer, but switched to other mediums for the art shown at the exhibition. One of the artist's hopeful takeaways for the viewers was to take inspiration from this approach with their personal artistic endeavors.

“Do something new,” Lorenzini said. “A new approach to the painting, because it's a new form of expression; such as a change with mediums, like watercolors to markers.”

The main themes of her paintings all vary, but one overarching tone remains. Among every piece is an undercurrent of love, which Lorenzini highlights is intentional. The pieces demonstrate this manner with how the subjects are depicted together, and the tones and colors of the paintings that do not feature subjects.

“My inspiration,” Lorenzini said. “First, is always love. I think that everything I do is full of love.”