Interview with Lauren Rice

We’re very excited about our interview with Detroit artist Lauren Rice. Lauren’s collages and installations will be shown at Org Contemporary in a solo show titled “Vestiges”. The opening is this Friday, December 11 from 7-9 pm.

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Behind the cut, you’ll hear about why Lauren loves working in Detroit and what her creative process is like, plus you’ll see more preview images of her work for this show.

You’ve gone to school in Illinois and Washington D.C., and you’ve exhibited all over the country. How did you land here in Detroit?

How I came to live in Detroit is a great example of how unexpected life can be. I grew up in Atlanta, GA, went to undergrad at Knox College and then moved to New York City for three years. When I applied, and was accepted to American University in DC for graduate school, I fully intended to return to New York afterwards. Of course, I ended up meeting my now fiancé, Brian Barr, during grad school. Brian’s originally from Detroit and was invited back to teach classes at The College for Creative Studies just when we were finishing up our last few months of the program. I ended up being offered classes as well, so we moved to Detroit instead of New York. I was resistant at first, but it’s turned into a really great opportunity in many ways.

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What do you like most about creating here? and/or, does anything in Detroit particularly inspire you?

Working in Detroit is wonderful. I have an amazing studio that has really driven my studio practice and allowed me to create some very ambitions projects. A space like this would be incredibly expensive in most other cities. Living and teaching in Detroit also gives me more time to work than would be possible elsewhere.

I think Detroit is really visually interesting, both ugly and beautiful. There is this sense of grandness still present in Detroit, accompanied by a lot of ruin and detritus. My work deals with binaries a lot, so working in this atmosphere has certainly shown up in my collage and sculptural work.

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What is your process like? How long does it take to complete a collage?

My process varies from piece to piece. Often, I’ll begin with a large, arbitrary shape, either painted or made with paper pulp, and then I’ll work into it with smaller elements. And then sometimes I’ll work the opposite way. In the beginning stages, formal issues drive the work; specifically color, shape and movement.

I usually collect the elements I’m using first, whether I’m making a collage or an installation. Then, I’ll modify them in some way, with paint, or cut them out, etc. Then I organize, or arrange, the elements.

I spend hours and hours cutting out tiny pieces from magazines, colored paper, anything is fair game. Then I’ll arrange the elements, which is also very time-consuming. Finally, I glue the collage, which is my least favorite part. Most of the time, I’ll paint back into the collage with acrylic or gouache. A collage can take anywhere from a few days to weeks to complete. I often work on several pieces at one time, so I go between them. They inform each other.

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Tell us a little bit about your upcoming show, “Vestiges”.

Vestiges, in a way, references the visually stimulating juxtaposition of grandeur and ruin that I find in Detroit. The title of the show indicates this as well as referencing my process; I’m a scavenger and collector of stuff. The show consists of several installations, as well as works on paper and independent sculptural pieces.

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“Vestiges” runs through January 8th. Org Contemporary is located on the third floor of Building 2 at the Russell Industrial Center. See more of her work at lauren-rice.com.

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