Artist Statement

Mankind’s connection to the land has been a constant inspiration for my art. Growing up on a farm filled me with a sensory awareness that was fueled by the sights and sounds and smells of the natural world, and served as a continuous source of joy and fulfillment for me.~ Almost all of my work to this point represents an attempt to recreate the simplicity, balance and transcendent spirituality found in natural and cultivated landscapes and seascapes.

I was surprised, therefore, by my studio production this summer in Greece. I found figurative and even textual elements weaving themselves into the subjects of my paintings. A narrative began to emerge that has shaped itself into this body of work, full of symbolism for me. In the series “A Recent Myth”, I have sought to explore the tenuous nature of man’s relationship to our physical environment, and with the other agents who share this precious and transitory stage. The images from this series present a narrative arch that deals with the gift of our existence, and our individual and collective responses to its potential. I also tried to invest each individual piece with a message of both concern and hope for our stewardship of the interwoven future we share here on Earth.

In addition to a childhood spent in the rural Midwest, my connections with Greece and Greek culture as an adult, as well as my experiences as a parent and as a teacher have directly influenced my point of view as an artist. My current work is an expression of newly urgent and unanswered questions that my friends, family and students have brought forward for me. I am indebted to them for this, and look forward to sharing this work with others.

Bio

Lauren Cook was born in Michigan, and grew up on a family farm there, graduating with a Bachelors of Philosophy from Grand Valley University. Her interests in cross-cultural studies and international development brought her to the Washington, D.C. metro area. Following work on state and national policy and governance issues, the pull of her rural heritage reclaimed her attention and became the subject of her art studies. Her art has been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows and in the Art in Embassies program of the U.S. Department of State. She holds a Masters of Art in Art Education from the Maryland College Institute of Art in Baltimore, Maryland and a MBA from George Washington University. She currently heads the visual arts department at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland and serves on the board of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, which has included a three-year term as chair of the Arts in Education Committee.