Lauren Naomi - Sculptural Petal Work
Immersed in the thread-embroidered, glass-annealed, paper-sculpted and live planted gardens of my mother, father, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother, I witnessed the connection between flowers and well-being early on and absorbed this floral-health connection, self-identifying with the petal form that has become my personal building block of expression.
Since 2004, I have sculpted, painted, and arranged thousands of clay floral petals in sprawling wall-hung, suspended and free-standing structures. With degrees in both psychology and art, these floral creations aim to give visual form to the typically unseen within us - our thoughts, contemplative processes, interpretations, responses and reactions as humans.
Works also seek to illustrate the beauty found within each unique individual, as well as how those individuals coexist within the larger community initiating a dialogue of personal awareness within a larger social context. In tandem with the notion of each of us as unique, all of my sculptural work is also unique, made by hand and no molds are ever used in the making of these works.
I begin with a hand-shaped petal I’ve pulled from a ball of clay and then continue sculpting petal by petal building up a work- a choreography that examines rhythms and repetition. Compositions probe the juxtaposition of symmetry and the organic, the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio, geometry and abstraction. Emotions and intensities play out in physical scales as well as a myriad of sculptural floral forms and their positioning.
A variety of disciplines including hand-sketching, welding, routing, sculpting, adhering, color bathing, spraying and fine-brush painting are incorporated into my projects. Specific painting mediums include watercolor, metallic alloys, acrylics, house paints and ink. Each work is then Dremel-cleaned, tweezed and treated with a UV-protective fixative. Together, this is my daily practice, a joy for me, for which I am continuously grateful.
Lauren Naomi - CV
solo exhibitions:
Sculptural Canvases, Subdivision Art Gallery, November 2006, Long Island City, NY
Fingerprints – LIC Pier Post Photographs, The Chocolate Factory, September 2006, Long Island City NY
two-person exhibitions:
Untitled, Studio 369, May, 2024, Brooklyn, NY
Ash to Bloom, Collier West Annex Gallery, April 2022, Brooklyn, NY
Hidden Nature, In Memorial, Meatspace Gallery, November 2006 Long Island City, NY
group exhibitions:
Barcelona International Art Fair (through Van Gogh Art Gallery), May 2024
Insia, Van Gogh Art Gallery, April 19 – May 3, 2024, Madrid, Spain
(un)fair 2024 (through Van Gogh Art Gallery), March 2024, Milan, Italy
Perception, Florence Contemporary Gallery November 2023, based in Florence, ,Italy
A Good Mix, Studio 369, September 2023, Brooklyn, NY
A Night of Art Presented by Jahtiek Long, Hub 17, April 2023, Staten Island, NY
Connectivity -a juried alumni show, Teachers College, Columbia University, February 2023, Manhattan, NY
UJA Trunk Show, August 2022, East Hampton NY
Rockwall Studios Group Show, June 2016, Brooklyn, NY
BOS – Bushwick Open Studios June 2016, Brooklyn, NY
BOS – Bushwick Open Studios June 2014, Brooklyn, NY
BOS – Bushwick Open Studios June 2012, Brooklyn, NY
Outpost Group Show, Outpost, June 2012, Ridgewood, NY
BOS – Bushwick Open Studios June 2011 Brooklyn, NY
Beth Israel Breast Cancer Awareness Art Exhibition, Beth Israel Hospital, October 2009, Manhattan, NY
Collectives & Collaborations, Gallery RFD, March 2008, Swainsboro, GA
Rays of Hope and Fragments of a Larger Idea, Rhonda Schaller Gallery, December 2007, Manhattan, NY
Projekt 30 Juried Exhibition, October 2007, online
Emerging Artists Group Juried Exhibition, September 2007, online
Sculptural Works, Macy Gallery, March 2001, Columbia University, Manhattan, NY
Juried Exhibit, Synchronicity Space, January 2000, Manhattan, NY
awards/press:
’55 Artists to Discover – 2024 Edition’, book publication by Florence Contemporary Gallery, March 2024
Country Home Magazine, rose branch featured in home spread of designer, Robin Klein, Spring 2024
Art Muse Express, ‘Lauren Naomi – An Artistic Exploration of the Human Psyche’, February, 2024
The Art World Post, ‘Clay Petals of Reflection: The Transformative Artistry of Lauren Naomi’, February, 2024
Florence Contemporary Gallery, Magazine Issue 11, November 2023, ‘Perception’, featured artist and cover image
Arts to Hearts, Online Featured Artist: Artist Interview, November 2023
Arts To Hearts Magazine, Volume III, Featured Artist magazine spread, July 2023
Hyperallergenic, The Part of Bushwick Open Studios That is Actually Ridgewood, June 2012
The Current, Charles River School, Alumni Publication, Alumni Feature, 2008
Letter of Commendation, Ambience Art Contest, 2007, Ambience Productions, Australia
Queens Tribune, A Look Inside The Hidden Art of Queens, feature article: ‘Finding Beauty In The Natural World’,
August 2006
Jive Magazine, 2006
teaching:
Ceramics Teaching Assistant, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2001, Manhattan, NY
education:
BA Psychology, Visual Arts Concentration, Barnard College, Columbia University 1997
MA Art & Art Education, Teachers College, Columbia University 2004