Lauren Fensterstock

With so much turmoil on the ground, I’ve turned my eyes to the sky for wisdom. Moody storms. Ominous comets. Dying stars. These fleeting events are a historically rich subject for the projection of human anxiety, hopes, and fears. I build sculptures and installations that explore the narratives we develop to find meaning in nature, and the landscapes we fabricate to situate ourselves in the world. The interwoven political, personal, and environmental crises gripping this moment reveal our need to look beyond a human-centered reality for meaningful context.  The highly decorative surfaces of these artworks highlight the beauty of a world that may at times be indifferent to us but is nonetheless magnificent in its complexity. The cumulative processes associated with historical ladies’ crafts – such as mosaics, shellworking, and papercutting- highlight the tension between small parts and a whole. Making these constructions is the act of taking disparate pieces and uniting them into something new and holistic.