Laura J Lawson
Bio
Laura J. Lawson is a Dallas-based artist who uses maps and natural objects to explore and subvert the tradition of landscape art. She is a graduate of Austin College (BA) and The University of Memphis (MFA). She was awarded a two-month residency at the Centre d’Art Marnay Art Center in Marnay-sur-Seine, France, and was selected for the first cohort of studio artists at the Cedars Union art incubator in Dallas. Her TEDx talk at Austin College last fall discussed the importance of better standards for time and space to do creative work.
Statement
Until we have manned missions landing on other planets, we won’t have human-scaled Romantic imagery of these places from personal experience. When I paint planets, I start with a map to anchor the territory, and interpret the space with ink and other water media. Planets are active places, and what I see on a map will always be slightly different from its truth. What’s really out there? Can a planet have agency? In my work, I stray from the natural colors of the landscape (in the tradition of false-color imaging) to amplify the thrill of discovery, and to signal a warning of their inhospitable nature.
Bio
Laura J. Lawson is a Dallas-based artist who uses maps and natural objects to explore and subvert the tradition of landscape art. She is a graduate of Austin College (BA) and The University of Memphis (MFA). She was awarded a two-month residency at the Centre d’Art Marnay Art Center in Marnay-sur-Seine, France, and was selected for the first cohort of studio artists at the Cedars Union art incubator in Dallas. Her TEDx talk at Austin College last fall discussed the importance of better standards for time and space to do creative work.
Statement
Until we have manned missions landing on other planets, we won’t have human-scaled Romantic imagery of these places from personal experience. When I paint planets, I start with a map to anchor the territory, and interpret the space with ink and other water media. Planets are active places, and what I see on a map will always be slightly different from its truth. What’s really out there? Can a planet have agency? In my work, I stray from the natural colors of the landscape (in the tradition of false-color imaging) to amplify the thrill of discovery, and to signal a warning of their inhospitable nature.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2016 MFA in Studio Arts, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2010 BA, Austin College, Sherman, TX
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Solar Siblings, Oak Lawn branch of the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX
2017 Elements of Place, Dennis Gallery, Austin College, Sherman, TX
2016 Dépaysement, The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary
Art, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2015 Navigator, Box Gallery, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2014 Specimen, Eclectic Eye, Memphis, TN
2010 Somatic Erratic, Daniel Ross Gallery, Austin College, Sherman, TX
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 To Infinity and Beyond, Friend of a Friend Gallery, Denver, CO
Даллас, curated by Dr. Margarita Kuleva, Carillon Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
Ecosystem X, MOZAIK Philanthropy, online exhibition
2021 AMoA Biennial 600, Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, TX
Act Like You Like Each Other, Umbrella Gallery, Dallas, TX
The Other Art Fair, Dallas Market Hall, Dallas, TX
Whereabouts, Gallery S14, The Cedars Union, Dallas, TX
Together, The MAC, Dallas, TX
2020 Online Faculty Exhibition, Tarrant County College Southeast, Arlington, TX
Lone Star Art Show, Texas Discovery Gardens Gallery, Dallas, TX
New Texas Talent XXVII, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX
Art Faculty Exhibition, Tarrant County College Southeast, Arlington, TX
2019 HYPERLOCAL, The Mckinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
First Come First Serve, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
Power, CICA Museum, Gimpo, Korea
Assembly, 22nd Annual Members Show, The MAC, Dallas, TX
KAABOO Texas Music Festival and Art Fair, Arlington, TX
Vignette Art Fair, juried by Leslie Moody Castro, The Women’s Museum, Fair
Park, Dallas, TX
COLOR, juried by Jennifer Klos, Maddrey PLLC, Dallas, TX
2018 Art and Digital Design Faculty Exhibition, Cedar Valley College Educational
Gallery, Lancaster, TX
Discovery/Invention, Gilliam Collegiate High School, Dallas, TX
Blue, The Gallery 8680, Frisco, TX
Hot & Sweaty, 500X, Dallas, TX
Florescence, Blue House Too, Allen, TX
First Come First Serve, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
2017 Paper Works, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
Ghost Town Arts Collective 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Sherman, TX
The 34th Annual Juried Student Exhibition, juried by Umar Rashid, The Art
Museum of the University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Honors and Awards
2021 The Other Art Fair New Futures Award
2017 President’s Purchase Award, 34th Annual Juried Student Exhibition
2016 Merit Award, 33rd Annual Juried Student Exhibition
2015 The Maude and Thomas Littlejohn Memorial Scholarship
2014 Committee’s Choice Award, Best of Memphis 2nd Annual Juried Exhibition
Publications and Artist Talks
2022 Don’t Drink the Paint Water Podcast, Episode 12
2021 TEDxAustinCollege speaker, Time and Space: Arts’ Most Valuable Resources
2019 Cedars Sessions, artist talk with Riley Holloway and Kristina Smith, Cedars
Union
Finding Your Comfort Zone as an Artist panel discussion, Cedars Union
2017 Austin College, A Night of Fine Art and Fine Wine artist talk
Austin College, panel discussion with Classical and Modern Languages alumni
Average Art Magazine, July issue
Grants
2022 Ecosystem X Special Mention Artist, MOZAIK Philanthropy
Residencies and Juried Programs
2018 The Cedars Union studio artist, Dallas, TX
2016 Centre d’Art Marnay Art Center (CAMAC) artist in residence, Marnay-sur-Seine,
France
Press
Glasstire, Plan C: The Cedars Union Art Auction, Dallas, November 2020
Glasstire, Five-Minute Tours: Three Current Exhibitions at Craighead Green, Dallas, June
2020
Voyage Dallas, Art & Life with Laura J. Lawson, Dallas, July 2018
l'Est Clair, Des artistes cosmopolites au Camac de Marnay-sur-Seine, Aube, France,
June 2016
Collections
The University of Memphis Office of the President
The Art Museum of the University of Memphis
Professional Experience
2019 Adjunct faculty, Austin College
Adjunct faculty, Tarrant County College
2018 Adjunct faculty, Cedar Valley College
2017 Visiting artist and workshop instructor, Austin College
Workshop instructor, Blue House Too, Visual Arts League of Allen, TX
2016 Chair, Box Gallery, The University of Memphis
Art Editor, The Pinch Literary Journal
Exhibition Support, The Art Museum of the University of Memphis
Instructor, Drawing II, The University of Memphis
2015 Mural Painter for A Genealogy of Kindness, The University of Memphis
2016 MFA in Studio Arts, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2010 BA, Austin College, Sherman, TX
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Solar Siblings, Oak Lawn branch of the Dallas Public Library, Dallas, TX
2017 Elements of Place, Dennis Gallery, Austin College, Sherman, TX
2016 Dépaysement, The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary
Art, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2015 Navigator, Box Gallery, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
2014 Specimen, Eclectic Eye, Memphis, TN
2010 Somatic Erratic, Daniel Ross Gallery, Austin College, Sherman, TX
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 To Infinity and Beyond, Friend of a Friend Gallery, Denver, CO
Даллас, curated by Dr. Margarita Kuleva, Carillon Gallery, Fort Worth, TX
Ecosystem X, MOZAIK Philanthropy, online exhibition
2021 AMoA Biennial 600, Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, TX
Act Like You Like Each Other, Umbrella Gallery, Dallas, TX
The Other Art Fair, Dallas Market Hall, Dallas, TX
Whereabouts, Gallery S14, The Cedars Union, Dallas, TX
Together, The MAC, Dallas, TX
2020 Online Faculty Exhibition, Tarrant County College Southeast, Arlington, TX
Lone Star Art Show, Texas Discovery Gardens Gallery, Dallas, TX
New Texas Talent XXVII, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX
Art Faculty Exhibition, Tarrant County College Southeast, Arlington, TX
2019 HYPERLOCAL, The Mckinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
First Come First Serve, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
Power, CICA Museum, Gimpo, Korea
Assembly, 22nd Annual Members Show, The MAC, Dallas, TX
KAABOO Texas Music Festival and Art Fair, Arlington, TX
Vignette Art Fair, juried by Leslie Moody Castro, The Women’s Museum, Fair
Park, Dallas, TX
COLOR, juried by Jennifer Klos, Maddrey PLLC, Dallas, TX
2018 Art and Digital Design Faculty Exhibition, Cedar Valley College Educational
Gallery, Lancaster, TX
Discovery/Invention, Gilliam Collegiate High School, Dallas, TX
Blue, The Gallery 8680, Frisco, TX
Hot & Sweaty, 500X, Dallas, TX
Florescence, Blue House Too, Allen, TX
First Come First Serve, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
2017 Paper Works, Fort Works Art, Fort Worth, TX
Ghost Town Arts Collective 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Sherman, TX
The 34th Annual Juried Student Exhibition, juried by Umar Rashid, The Art
Museum of the University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Honors and Awards
2021 The Other Art Fair New Futures Award
2017 President’s Purchase Award, 34th Annual Juried Student Exhibition
2016 Merit Award, 33rd Annual Juried Student Exhibition
2015 The Maude and Thomas Littlejohn Memorial Scholarship
2014 Committee’s Choice Award, Best of Memphis 2nd Annual Juried Exhibition
Publications and Artist Talks
2022 Don’t Drink the Paint Water Podcast, Episode 12
2021 TEDxAustinCollege speaker, Time and Space: Arts’ Most Valuable Resources
2019 Cedars Sessions, artist talk with Riley Holloway and Kristina Smith, Cedars
Union
Finding Your Comfort Zone as an Artist panel discussion, Cedars Union
2017 Austin College, A Night of Fine Art and Fine Wine artist talk
Austin College, panel discussion with Classical and Modern Languages alumni
Average Art Magazine, July issue
Grants
2022 Ecosystem X Special Mention Artist, MOZAIK Philanthropy
Residencies and Juried Programs
2018 The Cedars Union studio artist, Dallas, TX
2016 Centre d’Art Marnay Art Center (CAMAC) artist in residence, Marnay-sur-Seine,
France
Press
Glasstire, Plan C: The Cedars Union Art Auction, Dallas, November 2020
Glasstire, Five-Minute Tours: Three Current Exhibitions at Craighead Green, Dallas, June
2020
Voyage Dallas, Art & Life with Laura J. Lawson, Dallas, July 2018
l'Est Clair, Des artistes cosmopolites au Camac de Marnay-sur-Seine, Aube, France,
June 2016
Collections
The University of Memphis Office of the President
The Art Museum of the University of Memphis
Professional Experience
2019 Adjunct faculty, Austin College
Adjunct faculty, Tarrant County College
2018 Adjunct faculty, Cedar Valley College
2017 Visiting artist and workshop instructor, Austin College
Workshop instructor, Blue House Too, Visual Arts League of Allen, TX
2016 Chair, Box Gallery, The University of Memphis
Art Editor, The Pinch Literary Journal
Exhibition Support, The Art Museum of the University of Memphis
Instructor, Drawing II, The University of Memphis
2015 Mural Painter for A Genealogy of Kindness, The University of Memphis
