Collection: LAUREN BRESCIA

ABOUT

Lauren Brescia is a Chicago-based artist working in mixed media, including (but not limited to) industrial building materials, craft supplies, fabric, and found objects. She has a B.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and has participated in several group and solo exhibitions including a Pop-Up Art Loop™ Gallery in Chicago. She was named a top ten finalist in Chicago's Art Loop Open 2010, was one of four select artists in Chicago Artists Coalition’s inaugural "Starving Artist" benefit in 2011, and most recently had an installation on display as part of The Olsen Twins Hiding from the Paparazzi exhibit at the THNK 1994 Museum in Brooklyn. Her work has been featured on ABC 7 News, The Jealous Curator, HuffPost, New York Magazine, Cool Hunting, Fusion, MTV News, Brit + Co., and Vice. She is currently working as a freelance prop and floral stylist for print, digital, and film. 

STATEMENT

I explore what it means to be a female artist creating work that falls into the domestic sphere and craft genres.  In utilizing a wide range of atypical materials, I reference the illusion of theatrical spectacle.  I employ conventions that transform the materials, allowing them to become an imitation of real life and fantasy.  My knowledge of cake decorating informs my work, emphasizing ideas of decadent excess, preservation, decay, and the grotesque in relation to the body.  Working with mixed media, found objects, and a limited color palette, I produce pieces that are whimsical, nostalgic, and distortedly vintage, embodying femininity and a kind of strange beauty.