Laura's Artist Statement

In my work, I attempt to blend representation and abstraction. I aim to create surreal, liminal, dreamlike spaces that are at once recognizable, or feel tactile, and yet shy away from being completely describable. Much of my work consists of the figure in an uncomfortable space –– uncomfortable not for the figure themself, but uncomfortable for the viewer because it is just on the edge of being nameable without actually being so. The figure sits in vast spaces occupied by three-dimensional forms, yet nothing is truly identifiable. Aside from working almost exclusively two-dimensionally, material is not particularly important to me –– I like painting for the texture, the application; I like printmaking for the process; digital for its infinite malleability and experimental quality; drawing because it is messy and erasable and moveable. I suppose it would be more accurate to say that materiality resonates with me, but I do not seek out particular media. Instead, I adapt subject to materials, or vice versa, in order to achieve a sense of the surreal.

I have spent an immense amount of time thinking about how art has shaped me as a person. For me, it is very much about the experience of creating. I have come to think of art much more in terms of process over product, and while final product interests me, it comes essentially as a byproduct of just sitting down and doing art. Drawing specifically (although this applies to any observational art) serves as a way of examining, processing, and appreciating what I see. Art has also taught me to think much more fluidly and organically, while maintaining and enforcing the ability to follow through. Ultimately, my goal is to use art as an avenue through which I continue to shape the way that I think. With that, subject matter, material, and process will forever remain fluid.