art exhibits
Last chance this week to see the 2023 - 2024 Featured Artists Exhibition of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh.
A closing reception will be held at the AAP Gallery on Thursday, May 16th, 5 - 7pm
Lauren Braun Artwork, Photo: Chris Uhren
Lauren Braun Artwork, Photo: Chris Uhren
As August winds down the seasons begin to make a subtle shift from late summer to early fall. This month I switched my focus from studio work to writing proposals for grants and future exhibits.
I participated in a three person exhibit called Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Other with fellow artists Christine Lorenz and Travis Mitzel. Our work was part of a larger grouping of exhibitions happening at Blankspace in Wilkinsburg. Blankspace is a house that is currently undergoing various stages of renovation by artist and printmaker Joey Behrens. I spent a lot of time gallery sitting in the space and loved how the show came together. It was off the beaten path and had a gritty, whimsical, apocalyptic feel.
Photos by Christine Lorenz
Roswell Visual Art Center in Georgia
I’m happy to share some images from a group exhibit, “Working Our Way Home,” curated by my dear friend and fellow artist, Soude Dadras. The exhibit is in the Roswell Visual Arts Center in Roswell, Georgia through April 29, 2022
Installation of drawings, Roswell Visual Art Center
A series of events led to the development of this artwork. First, I was distressed last summer to read a news story about an extreme heat wave that killed millions of sea creatures during low tide on Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver. I started thinking about shells and how the shells that we see on the beach are just a hint of the life of creatures living in the ocean. This feels very generative to me. I started drawing shells and looking at how they influence fashion, design, architecture, etc.
Drawings on paper inspired by shells
Just like being in the flow of the ocean, my research and the experience of making sketches and drawings carried me to a place of excitement and delight in the endless variations of my source material. I found the Decorators Supply website to be a terrific source for looking at architectural mouldings based on shell shapes that are used as ornamentation in historic buildings. This book: Concophilia: Shells, Art, and Curiosity in Early Modern Europe is on my list of books to read for further research.
As I was drawing all the pieces that make up my paper installation, I felt very much in the creative flow of inspiration. The installation consists of about 30 paper cutout drawings of shells, architectural mouldings, acanthus leaves, delicate ribbons, and a few other hidden surprises pinned in place to the wall.
I’m so delighted to share some of my Cascades collages on display at the Swissvale Library in April - May, 2022.
This artwork was inspired by the many walks I took with my husband in Frick Park during the pandemic. In all different kinds of weather, I observed daily the pebbles on the trail. On sunny days, the pebbles were gray and dusty. On rainy days, the pebbles turned earthy colors. These walks helped me to feel more grounded, connected to the cyclical nature of the seasons and inspired me creatively. I made the artwork by painting sheets of yupo paper with acrylic inks and then cutting out my pebble shapes. Yupo is a synthetic, tree-free paper that resists water. These materials helped me to realize my vision of a waterfall of colorful pebbles cascading down the page.
Artwork displayed is in the price range of $225 - $250. Contact info@thelaurenbraun.com for info.
Cascades collages on display at the Swissvale Library
Detail of shell inspired drawings on the studio wall in the sun
I’ve been working on these drawings inspired by shells and shell moldings found on the decorator supply website. What started as sketches in my sketchbook has migrated onto the studio wall in the hand drawn, cutout pieces. This set of drawings will be traveling to the Roswell Center for Visual Arts in Georgia for a group exhibit curated by Ongoing Conversation’s Soude Dadras.
In the slideshow you can see the artwork installed in my studio with shadows and light from different times of day. I’m excited to see how these will look in a new setting on a gallery wall.
Meanwhile, I’m continuing to explore more shell drawings with water soluble graphite pencils on drawing paper, and also in pencil and ink on yupo paper. Visit my instagram for lots of process reels.
Hello! If you happen to be near the 530 block of Smithfield Street, Downtown Pittsburgh, you will see several Artist window displays including work from my Cascades series. This artwork was inspired by pandemic walks in the park and noticing the pebbles during different colors in the rain. I hope it will brighten your day.
I am so grateful to Ashley McFarland and PG & H for the opportunity and to Stevo for all your help!
#downtownpitt #downtownpittsburgh #LovePGH #windowart #uplifting #pebbles
I am excited to have my Cascades collages and accompanying sculptural branches included in an international group exhibition on view through October 30 at the National Center of Contemporary Arts in Minsk, Belarus.
This exhibit is curated by Soude Dadras as part of her curatorial platform, Ongoing Conversation.
My artwork is accompanied by a music piece titled Four Cascades and a Hymn by Douglas Levine with sound design by Angela Baughman.
Cascades on the left, a painting by Larkin Ford is on the right.
Curator’s Statement
The pandemic has dramatically changed the lives of many of us, but man’s fundamental need for art has remained unchanged. Through art we feel unity. In this difficult time, it is important to be together to preserve our culture - our essence. As part of the international joint mail art * project "Drawn Together +" ("United Together"), organized by the initiative "Ongoing Conversation", artists who recorded in their work the opposition of the art community to the challenges of the global pandemic, were invited to present their works at an exhibition in Belarus. through art to show the power of the human spirit.
The exposition of the exhibition "Drawn Together +" in Minsk consists of three blocks: special square works of textiles created within the framework of the international mail art project, works of artists specially invited to the exhibition by the founder and curator of "Ongoing Conversation" Soude Dadras, and works submitted to the exhibition. artists from different countries.
Artists from Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ghana, Germany, the USA, Jordan, Iran, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Korea, Poland, Russia are taking part in the DrawnTogether + exhibition at the National Center for Contemporary Arts. Turkey, France, Chile, Switzerland and Japan.
The exhibition is the IV edition of the Ongoing Conversation project. Previous exhibitions were held in Turkey, Japan and the United States. Ongoing Conversation is a platform created to display works by artists with different backgrounds in venues around the world, which today represents more than 1,000 artists from 23 countries.
Cascades, installation view
My work was inspired by walks in the park near my home during the quarantine and observing the pebbles along the trail turning different colors in the rain.
To learn more about this exhibit, visit @ongoingconversation on Instagram.
