Lauren Ari

Adders Adoration of a Night Song

acrylic in dictionary paper

23″ x 34″

Lauren Ari works in many mediums but the foundation of her art is in drawing and storytelling. When working, she rarely has a finished piece in mind, but more an interest in seeing where the process of making will lead. She approaches her work with curiosity and a direct quality of line that has aliveness. Although the work is personal it taps into the universal.

Lauren Ari

The Legend of Leda

acrylic on dictionary paper

23″ × 17″

Lauren Ari

Cousins of Eclecticism

acrylic on dictionary paper

23″ x 17″

“My art making has been a source of refuge and meditation”

Lauren Ari

Bottom of the Bottling

acrylic on dictionary paper

23″ x 17″

Lauren Ari

The Cranes Swinging Cradle

acrylic on dictionary paper

23″ x 17″

The 1913 Funk and Wagnells Dictionary series came from a memory of how she found school to be quite difficult. The artist always joked that she could learn anything she needed from the dictionary and encyclopedia. Lauren also wonders who gave each word its meaning and is searching for new meaning – tearing the pages out, reconfiguring them, and glueing the pages together in sets of four to give herself a paper canvases of about 2 feet by three feet to paint.

“As I paint, I collaborate with the dictionary, using the words and images to inspire me. Painting over to obscure parts and bringing new meaning”

Lauren Ari

Spadefoot Spasm

acrylic on dictionary paper

23″ x 17″

Lauren Ari

Nerved Nest in Newel

acrylic on dictionary paper

23″ x 17″

“The dictionary is so different from the way I am. It is factual, organized and labored where I am direct, intuitive and non- linear”.

“What relationship do we have with objects and words and creatures that swirl around us”?

Lauren often takes the images from the paintings and creates sculptures to bring the drawings into three dimensions.

Lauren Ari

Orange Dress

clay and glazes

13.5” x 10” x 7″

Lauren Ari

Between Two

clay and glazes

10” x 7” x 3″

Lauren Ari

Nerved Nest in Newel

clay and glazes

12” x 7” x 3″

“Moist clay is the perfect material for me as it responds to any move I make. Its alchemical process is a beautiful metaphor for our humanness”.

Lauren Ari

Searching For Meaning, 1914 Funk and Wagnell’s dictionary series

“Ultimately the work is about the relationship I have with the piece and how present I can be while making it. My hope is that you will enjoy experiencing the work as much as I enjoy making it”.
-Lauren Ari

Click here to see more paintings by Lauren Ari.

Lauren Ari is an artist and educator based in Richmond, California. She holds a Masters in Fine Arts from U.C. Davis after undergraduate study at the Rhode Island School of Design and CCAC. Lauren’s work is in the permanent collections of the Legion of Honor Achenbach Foundation and the De Young Museum.

Fouladi Projects