Rearrangements runs from February 20— March 26, 2024 in the Arno Maris Gallery, 2nd floor Ely Campus Center.
Rearrangements features the art work of NYC artist Laura Stein. She has developed a unique process of transforming cut paper into layers of activity. The gallery is open to the public and free of charge. Bring your friends and students. Enjoy!
Gallery Hours:
Tuesday through Friday 10:00 a.m.— 2:00 p.m. or by appointment.
Laura Stein Artist Statement
Painting with oils or acrylics was always my preferred means of expression. At a certain point, I lacked the space to paint, and switched to pencil and paper. I liked the confinement of drawing with ebony pencils on white paper, and found inspiration from the photographic compositions of Walker Evans. Later on, sparked by the work of Joseph Cornell, I began collecting printed media to use in my work.
At first, I pasted down images of objects and faces. Then I felt the need to express more immediacy and action in my work. I became drawn to the Abstract Expressionists, such as Jackson Pollock and John Chamberlain. I began to tear up the images, and discovered that each bit of paper contained its own light and dark as if it was a brushstroke of wet paint. In effect, I was turning a solid bit of paper into a liquid stroke.
I have piles of these brushstrokes in my studio. I fashion them from auction catalogs filled with silver and gold objects, porcelain, and jewelry. I use reproductions of paintings and sculptures, and glean brushstrokes from Sargent’s watercolors or from works of the “old masters”. I cut, tear, paste, and inlay new strokes and form REARRANGEMENTS of these elements, remaking them into something that is meaningful to me in the moment.
