Spotlight Artist

Lauren Rice

South
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Pentacles

Abstract painting with colorful dots, a central dark shape, and layered paper cutouts.

gouache, acrylic, Flashe, spray paint, glitter paper, sequins, and painted embroidery floss on hand-cut and collaged paper

New Age Slogan

Abstract artwork with geometric cutouts, pastel colors, and splashes of paint.

acrylic, gouache, Flashe, spray paint, ink, graphite powder, matte medium, and string on hand-cut and collaged paper

Night Light

Abstract painting with geometric patterns, colorful splatters, and black circular shapes.

graphite powder, acrylic, gouache, Flashe, spray paint, glitter paper, cardboard, and canvas on hand-cut and collaged paper

Featured in New American Paintings1 / 3

Artist Statement

My paintings are intricate systems of display that house arrangements of various studio artifacts such as scraps, found materials, and pieces of my children’s discarded drawings. Many elements are of lowly origins, massproduced remnants that are resuscitated within my paintings. Over the course of developing a painting, small, seemingly insignificant moments accumulate to form larger patterns. Intricate cutouts, paired with disrupted patterns and layered, gestural marks, create an unsettling tension. Disguised Xs and Os indicate hugs and kisses, but also uncertainty.

I intend for my paintings to uphold a sense of mystery and unpredictability. The repeated shapes and patterns are often on the verge of collapse. Nodding to textiles, as well as the nuanced history of abstract painting, I am interested in the pleasure of ordering—finding joy through creating patterns and assigning significance to odd items. Gardening, astrology, and geology are of particular interest, as are the ways cultures have historically kept track of time, through rituals, calendars, mark making, and writing.

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