Lauren Grossman

Ranging in scale from intimate objects to sited installations, Lauren Grossman’s provocative work wrestles with the ever-shifting meanings of Judeo/Christian imagery in contemporary culture. Often repurposing mechanisms and salvaging scrap, her sculpture embraces the well-worn qualities of the materials as well as the allusions. Many of her pieces invite interactivity—lifting, pushing, cranking, circumambulation—adding complexity (and occasional humor) to the relationship between object and viewer. Another persistent thread in her work investigates the physicality of language, translating written word into sculptural form. Lauren was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She graduated from the University of Washington ceramics program in 1983 and remained in Seattle to establish her broad-ranging studio practice. Lauren has taught occasionally at the UW, including the Rome Program, and also worked with a variety of students from incarcerated people to elementary school children. Over the years, Lauren has concocted more than twenty solo shows in commercial, non-profit, and academic gallery spaces. Reviews of her work have appeared in Art In America, Sculpture, American Ceramics, Artweek, and other periodicals, books, and blogs. Her honors include a Flintridge Foundation Award, two Groot Foundation awards, a Seattle Artists Award, a Pilchuck Artist-in-residency, and two Kohler Arts/Industry residencies.