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Laura Lark

United States
Houston, TX
born 1962 United States
www.lauralark.com

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Lives and works in Houston, TX

As an artist and writer, I find that with each body of work I am trying to create a personal narrative. Large, obsessive works reflect memories of teenage angst, ennui, and loneliness; a hand drawn ground of psychedelic patterns—memories of fabrics and posters from my youth—surrounds isolated figures. And figures in some works, although based on personal photos or magazines that my mother used to thumb through, become facets of my persona, both real and imagined: the entitled white suburbanite; the whiny victim; the bold, independent outsider/warrior; the accident-prone geek; and the empty woman who does nothing but stuff her face, only seeking comfort.

In concurrence with making other works, I have, in the past year, carried a camera everywhere I went and have tried to photograph everyone I met or already knew. Now, using these and photos that my father took of our family when I was a child, I find myself fascinated by the ‘bad’ photos: the shots where a subject jerks away from the camera, where he or she is patently miserable or bored. While translating each into a painting, I find myself realizing just how faulty a subject for reminiscence a photo can be. This, of course, delights the perpetual storyteller—a single image, a micro-moment in time becomes the basis for a new round of narratives, ones in which drawings, written works, videos, and installations will ultimately emanate.

Solo Exhibitions
2005
From All of Us, With Love, Devin Borden/Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, September 17-October 13.

2003/2004
Primp, Indigo, Lawndale Art Center, Houston, December 12,
2003-January 31, 2004.
2003
New Works, Finesilver Gallery, San Antonio, May 1-June 14.
A Politely Dark View of Things, Blue Star Contemporary Art Center,
San Antonio, May 15-June 22.
2002
How to Photograph Women, Project Gallery, University of Houston,
March 14-March 29.
2001
Project Lounge, One-Night Performance and Exhibition, Graduate
Studios, University of Houston, November 30.
2000
Bathos, Gallery Next Door, Houston, November 1-December 15.

Two Person Exhibitions:
2006
Hugs ‘n Kisses (Installation of Work and Performance) Laura Lark and Paul Horn, Commerce Street Artists Warehouse, Houston, February 11-March 5, 2006.
2002
Laura Lark/Katy O'Connor, Artscan Gallery/Rudolph Projects,
Houston, July 12-August 17.
Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art, Williams Tower Gallery,
Houston, March 4-April 19. Honorable Mention.

Online, Published, and Performed Exhibitions

2006
How to Create a Persona by Laura Lark. Artist Project, Artlies, #53, Late Fall Edition.

Laura Lark, Blackbird: Online Journal of Literature and Arts of Virginia Commonwealth University, Fall/Winter 2006-2007.
Laura Lark, New American Paintings Juried Exhibition in Print, 2006 Western Competition, pp. 90-93, Open Studios Press, No. 66. Curated by Ian Berry.

Unambiguous, A Printed Exhibition, Artworld Digest, February, p. 47. Edited and curated by David Cohen.

2004
Loving Laura More, Performance with Harrell Fletcher. Aurora Picture Show, February 14.

Group Exhibitions
2006

What I Like About Texas, Polvo Gallery, Chicago, January 6-January 28. Curated by Teresa O’Connor.
Sex Sells, Red House Gallery @ Art L.A., Venice, California, January 13-February 5.
2005
Amarillo Biennial 600: Drawing, juried by James Elaine. Amarillo
Museum of Art, Amarillo, Texas, June 10-August 28.
2004/2005
Amalgama, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, November
19, 2004-January 23, 2005. Curators: Paola Morsiani and Paula
Newton. Catalogue.
2004
Tracings Fellowship Series IV, Cultural Arts Council Houston and
Harris County, Space 125, Houston, July 9-September 3.
Houston Area Exhibition, Blaffer Gallery, Houston, June 26-August
29. Curator: Bill Arning. Catalogue: essays by Arning and Terrie
Sultan.
Your Heart is No Match for My Love, Soap Factory, Minneapolis
May 8-June 20. Curators: Bree Edwards and Robert
Blackson.
2003
20th Juried Exhibition, Visual Arts Alliance, Houston, May 12-
June 6. Juror: Lynn McLanahan Herbert.
Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art, Williams Tower Gallery,
Houston, February 28-April 4. Juror: Connie Butler.

2001
New American Talent, Arthouse/Texas Fine Art Association, Austin,
Texas, March 25-April 9. Juror: Anne Umland.
Catalogue.
Assistance League Celebrates Texas Art, Williams Tower Gallery,
Houston, March 2-April 6. Juror: Terrie Sultan.
Dishman Competition, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas,
February 9-22. Juror: Doug Lawing. First Place.

Artworks available from this artist: