lauren cardenás

Lauren is interested in objects that often go unnoticed and yet are interacted with on a regular basis. Things like sheets, cheese slices, or a toner printer. She’s interested in the relationships that people have with the mundane things that fill our lives, and how that context is altered when they’re pulled from the expected habitats and contexts. Using a mix of traditional and experimental printmaking techniques she is able to add a layer of history and intrigue to the items.

'“Within my practice, I have two modes of making: I either utilize traditional labor-intensive printmaking methods such as lithography or letterpress, or I use the immediate nature of digital applications to capture moments within a static picture. Each process has its limitations, and I attempt to push those constraints as far as possible. Within both processes, I can achieve severe abstraction. Yet, the main difference between the digital applications and traditional print processes is the act of play I can experience within the digital scanner. There is less risk of not having to be concerned with the laborious process of lithography or letterpress.” - Cardenás

Currently, Lauren is also working through her own “bifurcated” history as a Latinx (Mexican American) individual. She’s interested in the works of Hal Foster, Tacita Dean, Felix Gonzales-Torres, and others, fascinated by their use of archiving as a tool for art-making. Through the medium of the mundane and unconventional print surface, she is able to evoke feelings of loss. In doing so, she seeks to remove the precious quality of these works in order for them to move beyond their art objecthood to something more accessible.

Cardenás is currently an Assistant Professor of Printmaking at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. She has earned her MFA in Visual Art, with a concentration in Print Media and Book Arts from Washington University Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art in St. Louis. She has also earned her Printer Training Program Certificate from the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Artist Member since 2022
MFA IN VISUAL ARTS, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
SAM FOX SCHOOL OF DESIGN & VISUAL ART IN SAINT LOUIS
BA IN FINE ART, SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, GEORGETOWN, TX

current EXHIBITION

OCTOBER 2-25

ESTRELLA

ARTIST STATEMENT

“As a printmaker, my work explores the material and conceptual possibilities of print media through analog and digital processes. Using lithography, letterpress, and mixed-print techniques, I investigate themes of memory, fragmentation, and how language and image intersect in printed form. My practice often reflects on the tactile qualities of printmaking and its role in shaping personal and cultural narratives. In my studio practice, I explore the complexities of identity, religion, colonial legacies, and politics. Inspired by my experience as a second-generation Mexican American, I began by examining ideals of the American Dream and the migrant crisis along the Texas-Mexico border. This investigation led to my recent series of works: #SueñoAmericano, No Home for You Here, and Milagros for Millennials, crafted in response to the current tumultuous global migrant crisis along the southern U.S. border. As an artist focused on project-based work, I explore topics that inspire my art, scrutinizing issues such as migrant deportation, the border wall, and cultural differences among American-raised Latinx individuals. These projects are also rooted in my life as a Mexican-American woman navigating questions of identity and privilege.”

CURRENT WORKS

PREVIOUS workS