Laurel Statz - December 1

Laurel Statz is a painter and Madison area native. Her work, while figurative, is influenced by abstraction and minimalism. The paintings often have a quick and instinctual nature, capturing just what’s needed. While she often times herself to eliminate extra details and over-precision, she has ventured into more detailed works as well.

Laurel does not attach narrative to her pieces. Rather, she thinks of them like a journaling process for her scatter-brained psyche. The figures in the pieces are meant to be processing tools for the artist and the viewer. She hopes that seeing these figures helps the viewer step out of their world and into one with less societal standards.

Also featured in her paintings are figures from her eccentric childhood, and gentle caricatures of societal roles she finds humorous. She loves to use landscapes as a backdrop for her paintings, but also enjoys creating dingy and shadowy interiors to frame her figures.

Laurel is currently a student in UW Madison’s undergraduate Advanced Painting Workshop and is just at the beginning of what she expects will be a long journey with painting and exploration.

This show is a collection of small paintings, painted with acrylic and flashe paints on canvas, wood panel, and found surfaces. The work, while figurative, is influenced by abstraction and minimalism. The paintings often have a quick and instinctual nature, capturing just what’s needed.