Born: 1995, Hildesheim, Germany
Based in: Braunschweig, Germany
Instagram: @lugas.elias
Biography
Lugas Elias is a painter and multidisciplinary artist based in Braunschweig. His relationship with art started early—not out of a calculated passion for “art” as a concept, but from a pure, almost instinctual desire to create. As a child, painting and drawing were constants, pursued with more curiosity than intention. For years, he created without worrying about definitions or purpose—just the act of making.
In 2016, Elias formally began studying art, starting in a sculpture class before transitioning into painting. By 2020, he moved into his own studio and shifted his practice away from the university system, developing an independent rhythm. This transition helped solidify his approach: intuitive, experimental, and deeply self-guided. While institutional education shaped his technique, it was the personal decision to follow his own impulses that shaped his direction.
Artistic Practice
Elias’s work is defined by experimentation with surface, light, and layers. He primarily works with acrylic, markers, varnish, and spray paint—favoring quick-drying mediums that can keep up with his fast, impulsive layering process. Iridescent and metallic pigments often play a role, introducing light shifts and shine as integral elements in the visual experience. He seals many of his works to ensure durability, hinting at a tactile awareness that goes beyond the purely visual.
There’s no fixed formula to his process. He adapts his materials depending on the mood of the piece, sometimes using unconventional surfaces or tools not readily accessible to others. His style is spontaneous yet intentional, shaped by contradiction—exhaustive mark-making followed by quiet restraint.
Thematically, his work reflects abstraction without explanation. His paintings lean into childlike irreverence, cheeky surrealism, and internal symbology. Recurring motifs—like butterflies, horses, flowers, the word “sky,” and the phrase Himmel und Hölle—reappear across compositions. He draws from life, memory, and fragments: fences, boots, fields, Martha’s, postcards. These elements aren’t part of a rigid code but emerge organically, like visual echoes from personal mythology.
Rather than draw inspiration from traditional sources, Elias favors flashes—impulses, forgotten memories, emotional residue. His aim is to build a visual language that operates outside of obvious reference points. The world around him—its small textures, its overlooked details—is what feeds his creativity.
Exhibitions & Projects
Elias has completed cover artwork for a range of musicians, including projects under Sony Music Entertainment, and his work is now represented in private collections and exhibitions across Japan, Brazil, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, and the United States. His practice continues to grow in both reach and range, driven by a refusal to follow a single aesthetic path.
Artist Statement
I follow what feels right, what pulls me.
My paintings don’t start with a grand concept. They flow from flashes of memory, from instinct, from whatever’s around me that day. I like when things are a little off. I’m drawn to shine, color, movement. I love when materials reflect light in a weird way. That kind of subtle surprise.
My work often looks playful, maybe even naive — but it’s more about allowing freedom. The pieces don’t explain themselves, and I don’t want them to. I like when something leans too far, or feels unfinished in a good way.
There’s a rebellion in that. But it’s quiet.
It’s in the materials, the textures, the things I choose to bring in. Whether it’s butterflies, stickers, or a word like “sky” each element has its own rhythm.
My goal is to build a visual language that isn’t borrowed — just felt.
