Lisa Turin (b. 1986) is an American-born visual artist based in Zurich, Switzerland. Raised along the California coast near the Pacific Ocean, Turin developed an early sensitivity to scale, rhythm, and movement that continues to inform her material and conceptual approach. Water is not only a medium in her work, but a formative influence — shaping her understanding of human instinct. Working primarily with acrylic inks, she explores the fluid interplay of gravity, wind, and water to create richly layered paintings.

“Instinct is central to my practice. Because I work with water, wind, gravity, and movement, there’s only so much I can guide or  control. At a certain point, I have to trust the process and respond rather than force. My work is built on a dialogue between intention and surrender—between what I envision and what happens. Instinct is what guides me in the space between. It tells me when to stop or pause, when to let something breathe, when to push further, and when to leave it alone. It feels less about perfection and more about listening and embracing serendipity. 

In my practice, especially with fluid materials, overthinking kills the work. I rely on instinct to read energy, balance, tension, and emotion inside the piece. It’s a form of trust—trusting my eye, my body, and years of practice. The most honest -- and best -- moments in my work usually come from instinct, not calculation. Like slowly conducting a symphony of color, bit by bit, physics and spontaneity taking charge and forming shapes and currents I never saw coming. Visually, each layer feels like an acid trip, a Rorschach blot unfolding before my eyes. It's like watching big fluffy clouds in the sky when you're a kid, and seeing what they look like. It's pure magic. That's why I love doing it over and over again, and love to invite people to see my process. It's a fascinating, dopamine fuelling experience. Each one of these paintings slowly forms and becomes a unique signature of organic shapes, instinct, and an amalgamation of spontaneity and surrender.”

Her practice is rooted in an experiemental process that embraces both chance and control. Using custom techniques that harness natural elements — including water, airflow, and precise canvas manipulation — Turin allows materials to behave according to their own physical logic while guiding compositions through deliberate intervention. The resulting works capture the unpredictable beauty of liquid dynamics, while preserving the subtle trace of human intention within natural forces.