Lauren Matsumoto

Lauren Matsumoto is a contemporary painter who has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally in Tokyo and Hong Kong since 2008. Notable solo and two-person exhibitions...

Lauren Matsumoto is a contemporary painter who has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally in Tokyo and Hong Kong since 2008. Notable solo and two-person exhibitions include features at venues such as Goetze Art and Design in Memphis, Shain Gallery in Charlotte, Fabric Gallery in Hong Kong, and Uprise Art in Boston. Lauren has participated in residencies in New York and North Adams, Massachusetts, a grant recipient from City Artist Corps, and competition winner at ArtComplex Tokyo. She has been published frequently since 2004 and recent publications include The Jealous Curator Art Delivery, Booooooom Art Books, and The Avid Pen Blog.

The paintings are representations of birds in mid-flight or perched upon rectangular designs. Depictions of animals in art often come across as kitsch as they elicit feelings of cuteness and cliche fluffy affection; however Lauren uses elements of negative space, painterly realism, flat modern / contemporary design, and a monotone or linen surface to create a fine art interpretation of creatures. The vast negative space contains collages of magazine clippings of designs or small rectangles of painted delineations. A majority of the paintings usually contain a raw linen surface or monotone pale-warm backgrounds with subtle gradation. In a way, the painting resembles a metaphor of the relationship between nature and human-created structures, but using formations of patterns rather than literal structures such as architecture or cages. With a fascination and family history with birds, Lauren paints the fowls with great and colorful detail in a manner in which they interact with the space of the surface or with other birds as if the canvas or linen were a natural environment. 

The Rise and Fall No. 101 (pictured above) contains a vertical composition of pattern designs which appear to be similar to pieces of wallpaper or perhaps decorative stationary. The designs are laid out across the surface similar in fashion to skyscrapers while the birds perch above on the ornamental composed structures. The birds interact and seek attention from one another while in mid-flight and the other resting upon the plane. The birds with their wings and posture represent a circular composition on top of a vertical construction of patterned structures. As a painting, The Rise and Fall No. 101 metaphorically and literally represents the relationship between flat surfaces with illusion with low contrast. In essence the painting revolves around three aspects, the pleasant monotone and texture of the linen, the intricacy of the birds frolicking, and structures representing modern and post-modern design. 

Lauren Matsumoto creates poetic art which represents aesthetics around nature, not in direct depiction but in interaction with human-inspired formations. These subtle, quiet, and pleasant works portray birds gently invading our indirect unconceived notions of space. Her works are a study in the playfulness and elegance of the natural word in the representations of birds with intricate coats of feathers which reflect design relationships with the composed collages. The art also remains a study in behavior in interaction with unfamiliar surroundings in the representation of flat surfaces. These works reflect an artist captivated by philosophical approaches to space and what such relationships with volume means for us.

Artist website: https://www.laurenmatsumoto.net

Saatchi Art: https://www.saatchiart.com/matsumoto