Who I Am
My name is Lara Agopian, and I’m a Lebanese-Armenian artist who’s endlessly fascinated by the balance between chaos and harmony. I live and work in Beirut, where unpredictability is a way of life, and my studio TIWOLAB (The Inner World of Lara Agopian’s Brain)—is my space to breathe, experiment, and turn both inner and outer chaos into something more hopeful (or at least more colorful).
Lines, dots, shapes, and layers are my language. Every painting is a layered journey, built up piece by piece, reflecting life’s mix of structure and spontaneity, challenges and joys. My work might look chaotic at first glance, but there’s always flow beneath it all, a kind of visual storytelling that invites you to find your own meaning.
I’ve been shaped by the places I’ve lived, Los Angeles, New York, London, Dubai, and by my background in TV production, where I learned the art of storytelling. What inspires me? Pretty much everything: the shows I binge, the music in my headphones, my love of food and travel, and my questionable obsession with true crime (don’t worry, I promise I’m harmless). And, of course, the energy of the city I call home. All of it finds its way into my paintings, bringing movement and vibrancy to each piece.
Today, my work lives in private collections from New York to Vienna, Dubai to Beirut, and a handful of places in between. But for me, it always comes back to this: I’m here, in my studio, making sense of the mess—layer by layer, dot by dot—and always looking for hope, even in the most unpredictable moments.
About the Art
Finding Hope in Chaos
This isn’t a story of perfect order far from it. Here, color and chaos get equal say, and dots and lines and layers, become a way to wrestle with life’s contradictions. Sometimes I think we’re all just looking for a little hope, a little beauty, or something that feels like home, even if it’s painted in a language we’re still learning.
Art, for me, is a way to pause, to breathe, and to turn confusion into color. Maybe that’s what you’ll find here too, a reminder that even when nothing adds up, there’s still space for hopeful wonder.
My Art Story
How It All Began
I didn’t grow up with a paintbrush in hand.
My background was all about moving from one place to another, telling stories, setting up projects, and living life in fast-forward, often across cities and time zones
And then, at one of the darkest points, a person very dear to my heart showed up at my door with an unexpected gift: a canvas, an easel, and a handful of paints. To this day, neither of us knows why they chose that gift, but somehow, it was exactly what I needed.
That day, painting became my quiet rebellion against the chaos, a new language for all the things words couldn’t say. What started as a single act of kindness slowly turned into a lifeline, then a daily ritual, and finally, a world of its own.
Layer by layer, painting became the way I made sense of everything I couldn’t control. And that’s how TiwoLab was born, a space for chaos, color, connection, and hope.