Lauren Woods, Assistant Professor of Art & Art History, Auburn University

Curator: 

Erin Cross, Assistant Professor of Art/Executive Director of Rall Gallery

Proposal Date: 

August 1, 2021

Proposed venue: 

Rall Gallery, Doane University, Crete Nebraska

Rationale: 

Lauren Woods artwork displays a high skill of magical realism within her paintings subject matter. Her unique combinations of technique and skill would be a benefit as a learning tool for students willing to engage in a visual based learning environment that the gallery provides. As an artist who focus’ on the figure in her work, students have the opportunity to see how the figure can be used to incorporate contemporary themes that include gender fluidity, the feminine gaze and experience and more traditional themes like archetypes within strong composition and visual atmosphere through the use of theatrical visual prompts. 

Proposed Start Date of Exhibition: 

February 2021

Expected Scale: How much space will this exhibition take up?

The proposed exhibition will take up the entire Rall Gallery wall space environment. 

Type of work to be included:

2D art: Paintings on panel and canvas

Exhibition concept:

Lauren Woods art focuses on the visual development of a personal mythology. Influenced by the visual language of allegorical figure paintings of Western art history, she composes her paintings with artifice to create a delusive vision of whimsical romance. Through a veneer of lightheartedness, the paintings become a theatrical space to examine deeper notions of gender, sentimentality, desire, beauty, and artistic power. 

Although the exhibition display will not be a linear narrative format as a whole and will be presented to encourage a freeform format, paintings will be grouped together to create several vignettes that allow the viewer to engage in the stories being presented. This will create an active visual dynamic between the viewer and artwork allowing the viewer to come to their own narrative conclusions. 

Rationale of timing:

February  was chosen because it is a month made available to outside artists for exhibition. 

Contemporary relevance: 

Although some of Lauren Woods’ themes are rooted in an art historical base, her ethereal compositional environments emphasize the tension between idealized figures and visual allusions to the hushed violence of death. Her use of universal themes around gender roles and fluidity, fantasy vs. reality and perverse beauty manifests a contemporary nostalgia that is both relevant and important to recognize in our own day to day lives. 

The last comparable exhibition:

N/A

Potential audience:

Doane University Art Majors and University Community

Potential tour venues:

N/A

Proposed publisher:

N/A

Initial list of artists and works to be included:

(Please see proposed gallery layout attachment)

Mother, Oil on panel. 36”x 36”

Offering, Oil on panel. 74” x 43”

Little Hunter, Oil on Canvas, 48”x 60”

Night Journey, Oil on panel, 20”x16”

Conch Shell, Oil on paper, 24”x 20”

Swan Boat, Oil on panel, 30” x 40”

Pink Prince, Oil on Panel, 20” x 16”

The Rescue, Oil on Panel, 20” x 16”

The Sirens, Oil on Wood, 24” x 20”

The Break Up, Oil on wood, 48”x 64”

Ascension, Oil on Panel, 24” x 24”

Surrender (The Assumption). Oil on wood. 40” x 27”

Lady Killer, Oil on wood. 72”x 48”

Maiden Voyage. Oil on Linen. 78” x 86”

Short biography of each artist:

Lauren Woods

Born in Mobile, Alabama Lauren Woods received her MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art after completing her BA in studio art at Spring Hill College. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Art & Art History at Auburn University, where she teaches figure drawing and painting. She has shown regionally at the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Mobile Museum of Art, The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art, and the Gadsden Museum of Art and exhibited nationally in galleries across the US. Her most recent projects are focused on combining her experience as a former ballet dancer with her current painting practice.