Artist Statement

Lauren, a Fine Artist from Greenville, SC, earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Fine Arts with a minor in Art History from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree with a specialization in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design, Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. Her artistic portfolio includes graphite and charcoal drawings depicting subjects with which she has strong emotional connections to but is physically detached from; loved ones, poignant mementos, and tokens from childhood. Additionally, her work places an emphasis on sensory details of everyday life that are seemingly overlooked but subconsciously stored by the mind with intense clarity. Some works reference photos she has taken, while others are constructed entirely from memory or contain elements that are altered, taken away, or reinvented to more seamlessly align with her own personal recollections. This reconstruction process allows the artist to rekindle connections from her past while encouraging viewers to reflect on the tenacity of memory and question why certain details are preserved vividly while others fade or become rewritten over time. Lauren's artwork is a catalyst for a broader dialogue about memory as a fundamental facet of the human experience, and it invites viewers to engage with their own perspectives in response to universal concepts of longing, nostalgia, healing, familial history, dedication, and the passage of time.

Lauren's work has been displayed in institutions and galleries across the United States, including New Hampshire Institute of Art (Manchester, NH), Crocker Art Museum (Sacramento, CA), Center for Creative Arts (St. Louis, MO), South Bend Museum of Art (South Bend, IN), Pratt Manhattan Gallery (New York, NY), Art Ovation Hotel (Sarasota, FL), and the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (Washington, D.C.). Additionally, her work has also been featured in Strokes of Genius 9: Creative Discoveries/The Best of Drawing published by North Light Books.