ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork illustrates feelings, thoughts, and experiences I remember from my past. When sketching my pieces, I create lists and webs of text to dissect my memories. I use a variety of materials to create the images I remember accurately, as the textures, small details, and feelings objects and situations gave me are what I recover most clearly. Physical objects and people I still carry from the past are very important to me and my work. I view them as proof that times and experiences truly happened, even if my recollection fades, some becoming recurring symbols throughout my portfolio. In these projects, I share the memories I hold of lost loved ones, my old homes and spaces, treasured objects, and the difficult feeling of losing your child self as you mature into an adult. The apartment fire I experienced in 2021 is a notable and particularly influential memory referenced in my body of work.
As a person who sees objects as valuable markers of time, losing many of my belongings and fearing the loss of them all was a terrifying experience. By creating detailed works with fragile lines, a variety of carefully chosen media, thread hand-binding, and delicate paper I intend to emphasize the value I give to tangibility. Drawing parallels between the irreplaceable nature of handmade artworks and objects with sentimental value.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lauren Pontenberg is a student artist currently based in middle Indiana. She is attending Ball State University as a senior in her BFA with a concentration in drawing. Her artwork revisits situations from her past in a productive and colorful way. Growing up in suburban northern Indiana, Lauren struggled with wanting independence without having the skills to yet survive the responsibility that follows. Pontenberg’s artwork revisits situations, feelings, and people she experienced in her time growing up. She creates work with intuitive linework, bright colors, and fine details to create visuals that represent her past emotions, beliefs, and physical surroundings. When creating artwork, she aims to revisit her own traumas in a safe and productive way as well as connect to audiences, allowing them to reconnect with the inner child they feel inside themselves.
Lauren Pontenberg’s work was recently displayed at The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette and Storage Space Gallery (Indianapolis, IN). Currently, she has a collection of zines in the Art4Quarters art vending machine at Made in Muncie (Muncie, IN) and is hosting a table at the 2023 Gluestick Zine Fest (Indianapolis, IN).
© Lauren Pontenberg