Lauren Berley – Q2 Art Competition – Artist Portfolio Magazine

• Artist Portfolio Magazine – Q2 Art Competition
• Lauren Berley – Denver, CO

I am currently making art that recalls my childhood special talent, to process cruelty and absurdity through my toys. I remember very specific instances when the adult world around me was so unpredictable, I would cast my toys as family members and re-experience oppression through their imaginary worlds, voices, and perceptions.

The vintage toys in my artwork represent archetypes as they relate to the cultural themes I address. Corruption, abuse, disrespect, isolation, loss of innocence, gender bias, political hypocrisy, mental/emotional challenges, childhood obesity, and shallow absurdity… palatable topics when portrayed by shiny, happy, silly toys.

I enjoy working in mixed-media because my photography work pushes me as a painter. Isolated spaces, textures and cultural establishments are photographic stages for the dramas of my vintage toys. My study in oil painting is a classic practice, and I love applying it in a contemporary, explorative environment.

My work is is sarcastic, but not angry. Without sarcasm I would wither as a human, an artist, and a sensitive in a world of brash and brazen offenses to humanity. Processing life’s quandaries through archetypical means, slightly-off humor, and sarcasm has carried me through times that would have otherwise scarred me without my special talent.