Lauren Mantecón

Biography

My mother is of Scottish descent born in Providence, Rhode Island. My Father is of Basque descent born in Mexico City. I was born in the middle, negotiating the terrain of identity and place. Rustic summers spent on Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire meditating on water and granite; and intensive travels in the Mexican Yucatan exploring the land and its’ spirit has deeply influenced my visual language and art practice. Inspired by visual imagery, I studied photography at California State, Fullerton and received a Bachelor of Fine Art. I was strongly influenced by conceptual photography and the feminist underpinnings of Cindy Sherman and Lorna Simpson. My work then focused on “body identity” and “eating disorders” against the backdrop of Southern California culture. In contrast, I relocated to Portland, Oregon and deepened my visual language through painting. I received an M.F.A at Portland State University and spent 8 years as adjunct professor and educator in the community, teaching painting and mixed media workshops. I have recently relocated to Sausalito, CA where I am pursuing a new body of work, bridging the gap between body image, abstract painting and mixed media techniques.

Artist Statement

I live my day to day existence with a subtle undercurrent of anxiety. Not often enough do i seem to find waves of calm that remind me I am not alone but connected to all in the purest gracious way. I make and create over and over again to find my way back to this sense of place. 

 I am fascinated by the questions presented by unseen forces. What if there were forms acting as  linkages to what we know as  "above" and "below'? What if these inter-connective links were  made visible? I believe that mists, radiance, clusters, flora, fauna, orbs, strings,and strands all  represent the inexplicable. 

My painted surfaces are  layered and heavily worked.Then worked again.I repeat this process until the image and ideas solidify. I seek to create a psychic sensibility through a physical space, a tension between painted surface and depicted space. I desire a dialogue between non-objectivity and physical landscape. In contrast my images on paper are fragmented, spontaneous, gestural, organic,and laid against absence of color.These are not illustrations but starting points for me as a visual thinker.

Art Education

Master of Fine Art. Painting, Portland State University. Portland, Oregon. 1997 Bachelor of Art. Photography California State University Fullerton, California. 1989

Awards

PUBLIC ART PROJECTS Tri-Met Light Rail Competition, Interstate Station. Portland, Oregon, Spring 2004 Outside In Homeless Youth Facility, Outdoor rotating mural. Portland, Oregon, 2002 FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS Djerassi Art Residency Fellowship. Woodside, CA Painting Residency, Spring 2004 Jentel Artists Residency Program. Banner, WY, Painting Residency, Spring 2003 Caldera Residency. Sisters, Oregon Painting Residency, Fall 2003 Sitka Center For Art And Ecology. Cascade Head, Oregon, January 2002 Professional Development Grant. Portland, OR. Portland State University, Fall 2003 SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS Points Of Desire, Ventura College, Ventura, CA, November 2007 Seeds, P:EAR (Program: Education, Arts and Recreation), Portland, OR, 2006 Shift, P:EAR (Program: Education, Arts and Recreation), Portland, OR, 2005 Touring The Void, Mark Woolley, Gallery Portland, OR, 2004 Wyoming Show, Autzen Gallery, Portland, OR, 2003 A Cardinal Sign, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR,2002 Repercussions, Buckley Art Center, Portland, OR, 2001 Intrinsic, Pacific Art Center (Art Reach), Seattle, WA, 2001 Veil, Mark Woolley Gallery, OR, 2000 Manipulation, Tank Gallery Portland, OR, 1998 October Show, 333 Studio Portland, OR, 1996 -1999 Feminine Rhyme Thesis Exhibition, Portland State University, Autzen Gallery, Portland, OR, 1996 Subtle Intrusions, Time Space Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA, 1992 Madre Tierra, Museo De La Isla De Cozumel, Mexico, 1991 SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS Small Works, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR, 2005 Group Show, Time Space Gallery, Hanapepe, Kauai, Hawaii, 2005 Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, SAM Gallery, 2003 Big Show, Love Lake Gallery, Portland, OR, December 2002 Faculty Show, University Of Portland, Buckley Art Center, Portland, OR 2002 Slide Show, Norma’s Salon Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA, 2000 Stick Show, L&B Viewing Room, Portland, OR 1999 Newport Biennialm, Newport Art Center Juror: Kristy Edmunds, Newport, OR 1999 The Screen Show, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR, 1999 Eye Candy, Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR, 1998 Multi-Mini Show, Plains Art Museum, Traveled Nationally: Fargo, North Dakota Ephemeral Trappings, Metropolis Gallery, Seattle, WA, 1997 Introductions, Northview Gallery, Portland Community College, Portland, OR, 1996 Keeping An Eye On The Invisible, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR, 1995 Her Story, P.D.G Gallery, New York, NY, 1991 Sexhibition, Kampo Cultural Center New York, NY, 1991 SELECTED COLLECTIONS Portland Community College, Cascade Campus Outside In, Portland, Oregon Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, Portland, Oregon Amazon.Com, Seattle, Washington Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota Museo De La Isla De Cozumel, Cozumel, Mexico The Greenbrier Companies, Washington D.C. Monqui Productions, Portland, Oregon Layton Home Fashions, Bits and Pieces Portland, Oregon Kettle Chips Corporation, Salem, Oregon CURATED EXHIBITIONS Sun Valley Center For The Arts Sun Valley, Idaho, April 2006 This exhibition was a direct result of two sponsored workshops by the center. The theme was “Heavy Process”. Portland Institute of Contemporary Art, February 2000 Curated “Out Of The Box/ Fuera De La Caja” The exhibit explored gender and ethnic issues centered on culture and identity with Latino women ages 15-19. TEACHING EXPERIENCE University Of Portland Portland, OR Adjunct Professor, 2000-2007 Beginning and Advanced Painting, undergraduate teaching Portland State University Portland, OR/Adjunct Professor, 2000-2004 Advanced Painting, Beginning Drawing, Intermediate Drawing, 2D Black and White Design, 2D Color Design, and 3D Design, undergraduate and graduate teaching. 2000, upper-division Photography and Mixed Media course for Art Education Portland Community College Sylvania Campus, Portland, OR 2004-2007 Taught 2D Black and Whit Design, Color Design, 3D Design, Life Drawing P:ear (Program:Education,Art,Recreation) Portland, OR, 2003-2005 An art organization serving inner-city homeless youth ages 15-23. I conducted an in-house Art Residency making art with encaustic, collage and mixed media; this resulted in an art exhibition of my own and the pear youth’s work. Caldera 2001-2003 A non-profit interdisciplinary art’s organization serving undeserved youth in Portland, as well as Eastern Oregon. I have taught many diverse groups within this organization. Instruction has included encaustic wax painting demonstration, painting workshop at Sister’s Middle School. Teaching at their summer youth camp-in a stimulating environment. Our goal was to create a multi-dimensional performance that included visual art, dance, script writing, and acting. Sun Valley Center For The Arts Sun Valley, ID, Spring 2004-2006 Teaching Mixed Media intensive “idea generation” workshops which focuses on drawing, painting and collage techniques. Slide lectures are given on contemporary visual issues. Technical painting techniques are a strong foundation to this class. Sitka Center is on the Oregon Coast and serves as a Residency Program for National and International artists. Professional artists teach workshops throughout the years. Sitka Center for Art and Ecology Otis, OR 2001-2004, 2007 Teach mixed media intensive “idea generation” workshops which focuses on drawing, painting and collage techniques. Slide lectures are given on contemporary visual issues. Technical painting techniques are a strong foundation to this class. Sitka Center is on the Oregon Coast and serves as a Residency Program for National and International artists. Regional Arts and Culture Council, 1999-2005 “Neighborhood Arts Program” and “Artists in The Schools. I did numerous residencies to all age groups centered on the creative process. One such residency was La Raza a group of young Latino women ages 13-19 run out of Eastwind Center in Troutdale, Oregon. We worked with identity through photography. Young Audiences Portland, OR, 2004-2006 A non profit organization which works with educational systems, the art community and private and public sectors to provide arts education to children. Have taught to various schools and institutions such as The Jewish Academy and Rosemont Residential Treatment Center and School. While a resident at the Rosemont Center I worked with girls ages 12-17 in a lock down facility engaging the creative Process. BIBLIOGRAPHY/PERIODICALS Willamette Week, ArtsWeek, "Something from nothing", Richard Speer, September 2004 Preview Gallery Guide Magazine, "Touring The Void", Alan Cantor, September 2004 The Oregonian, ArtsWeek, "Images and Self-image: A Group Portrait", Angie Chuang, January 28, 2001 The Oregonian, Arts and Entertainment: "Feminine Obsessive", D.K. Row, August 18, 2000 Our Town "Art Star", Eva Lake, May 31, 1999 The Oregonian, "All in the name of process", D.K. Row, October 23, 1998 Anodyne, "The October Show", E.A Barnes, October, 1998 The Oregonian, "Woolley's World", D.K. Row, September 30, 1998, Living Section Willamette Week "The Young and the Restless", D.K. Row, February, 18, 1998 The Oregonian, Arts and Entertainment, "1997 Expands The Spectrum Of The Local Art Scene", Randy Gragg, Jan. 2, 1998 The Oregonian, Arts and Entertainment: "Life On Easel Street", Randy Gragg, Oct. 31, 1997 Daily Vanguard, Calendar "Pandora's Box", Dan Shea, May 18,1996 The Oregonian, Arts and Entertainment: "Art Newly Awakened to a City", Randy Gragg, Dec. 8,1995 Willamette Week, Pick Of The Week - Arts and Entertainment, "Women On The Verge", Geoffrey Abraham, August. 3-9, 1994 Laguna Coast Line News, "December Art Reviews", Tim Curan, Dec. 3,1991, Laguna Beach, California