Lauren Rice
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.