​LAUREN J. BARNHART

Lauren is inspired by nature—how things grow, how they change, how they function, and how different elements interact. What feelings are evoked by these shifting associations?

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The act of letting the paint play is a constant movement and variation. Most importantly, it is a search for visual rhythm. Lauren is guided by reactions between texture, shape, color, and contrast. It is a focused meditation—based on the moment rather than a map. 

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Lauren is also an author currently at work on two historical book projects that explore the evolution of transcendence and animal symbolism in the ancient world. She lives in Portland, Oregon, and is also based on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, where the annual turn of plants and animals influence her artwork.

 

Lauren’s visual and written languages explore a post-humanist philosophy, in which humans are not at the center of life, but in balance between other forms of energy. These varied elements coalesce in a delicate weave, where existence is perpetuated and informed by death.