Accelerator Fellow (2013)
As an artist who grew up in a rural area of the American South, Lauren Frances Adams explores issues of labor, class, the aesthetics of ornament and decoration, and domesticity. She utilizes the historical decorative arts and figuration as vehicles for these explorations in painting and mixed-media installation. “At the center of my work is a concern with what defines American identity.”
The Foundation assisted Lauren with research support and supplies for two different site-specific installations that began in April 2014. Lauren was offered the original 1755 sitting room of the plantation house at the historic Clermont Farm in Clarke County, Virginia, where her installation immersed visitors in the venue’s layered history.
Lauren also participated in an exhibition at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, D.C., on the campus of American University. There she took over both the rotunda that connects the museum to the arts department, as well as a large wall within the museum itself. The exhibition was entitled “The Neighbors,” and was curated by Tim Doud and Zoe Charlton. The work that Lauren created for this exhibition was an interesting compliment to the Clermont Farm project.
[To find out more about Lauren, listen to our podcast interview.]
