Laura Chapman has always been creative and remembers making pots out of the clay she dug on her grandmother’s farm at a very young age. If she hadn’t spent her junior year of high school as a Congress-Bundestag scholar in Berlin, Germany, she thinks she probably would have majored in Art in college. Instead, she eventually earned an M.A. in German. In between her B.A. and M.A., there were years of living, studying, and working in Freiburg, Germany and travelling in Europe as much as she could. Although a lot of time has passed, she thinks that the style of her work is still influenced by the art, fashion design, and architecture that she saw during this time period.
Now working in rural West Virginia, her themes are largely chosen from what she observes around her. One can easily discern the stems, leaves, flowers, and buds in many of her paintings. Some pieces are more abstract and are simply meant to praise the beauty of favorite colors, color combinations, and patterns and forms. When asked about other influences on her work, she names Native American jewelry design, art glass (e.g. Blenko), mid-century modern furniture, ancient Egyptian and Roman art, and even American Art Deco and Art Nouveau silverware patterns. She likes to use texture to create mood, depth, and movement in her pieces. She explains that she adds layer upon layer of color, sometimes waiting between coats, sometimes working while the paint is still wet. She wants to create visual interest by deconstructing and then depicting her subjects in a stylized way that highlights certain patterns and shapes. She often leaves “suggestions” of some or part of an object if she likes the style of the uncompleted lines or color fields because the overall balance of the work is more important to her than any one element in the painting.
EXHIBITIONS AND PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Laura was invited to participate in Monongalia Art Center’s exhibit entitled “A Summer Dream” in Morgantown, WV. Six of her paintings were on display from August 11th through September 1, 2023.
Laura contributed five works to Parkersburg Art Center’s regional exhibit entitled “Roy G. Biv: Communicate in Color.” This show could be seen in Parkersburg, WV from June 30th until August 19, 2023 at the Parkersburg Art Center at 725 Market St.
thoughts of ukraine in turquoise was chosen to be part of the 15th Annual Best of West Virginia Juried Exhibition and was on display at the David L. Dickirson Fine Arts Gallery at Tamarack in Beckley, WV from June 24th until August 9th, 2023.
In March of 2023, Laura showcased selections of her work at her booth at Arts Day at the West Virginia Legislature.
Laura became a juried member of Allied Artists of West Virginia in 2023. For information about this organization and their events, visit their website at https://www.alliedartistswv.org.
Until March 2023, a large selection of Laura’s work was on exhibit at Young at Art gallery in the historic downtown district in Lewisburg, WV located at 1042 Washington Street East. See their Facebook page for information about this unique gallery.
In 2022, Laura participated in several of Tamarack’s juried exhibitions as a member: “Small Packages” in January, “Women’s Work” in March, and “Head Over Hills” in August.
Laura became a juried member of the West Virginia Creative Network in 2021.
an early autumn field was selected to be a part of the 22nd biennial 2021 West Virginia Juried Exhibition and was on display at the Culture Center at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, WV from November 14, 2021 until February 22, 2022. It was later chosen to be part of Tamarack’s 14th Annual Best of West Virginia juried exhibition and was on display at Tamarack in the fine arts gallery from June 25th, 2022 until Aug. 17th, 2022.
the trees for the forest was chosen to be in Tamarack’s Best of West Virginia Juried Exhibition and was on display in the David L. Dickirson Fine Arts Gallery at Tamarack in Beckley, WV from June 19, 2021 until August 1, 2021. Shortly thereafter, Laura became a juried member of Tamarack’s Fine Arts Gallery. For more information about this great showcase of West Virginia artisans, go to: https://www.tamarackwv.com/ .
The painting entitled luck is the residue of design was selected to be a part of the Webster Arts Open Theme Annual 2020 National Juried Exhibition in St. Louis, MO.
The painting entitled pathways was selected to be a part of the 32nd Annual Valdosta National 2020 Juried Exhibition which presents the best in contemporary art nationally in an all-media competition. Hosted by the Valdosta State University Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery in Valdosta, GA. The exhibition was on display from January 21, 2020 until February 7, 2020. For more information about this exhibit, go to: https://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/art/gallery/ .
The painting entitled tenacity was selected to be a part of the Chautauqua National Juried Exhibition: Balance and Resilience and was on display at the Giles Gallery in Richmond, KY from January 21, 2020 until February 14, 2020. For more info about this exhibition, go to: https://chautauqua.eku.edu/ .
The painting entitled earth to city to earth was selected to be a part of the 21st Biennial West Virginia Juried Exhibition and was on display at the Culture Center at the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, WV from November 17, 2019 until February 18, 2020. For more information about this exhibition, you can visit the West Virginia Department of Art, Culture and History’s website at: http://www.wvculture.org/index.aspx .
The painting entitled something botanical II was selected to be a part of the Tubac Center of the Arts Arizona Aqueous XXXIV National Juried Exhibition and was on display at the Tubac Center of the Arts in Tubac, AZ from October 11, 2019 until November 17, 2019. For more information about this exhibition, you can visit their website at: https://tubacarts.org/event/arizona-aqueous-xxxiv/.
A selection of paintings was on display at the Art Emporium at 823 Quarrier St. in Charleston, WV until February 26, 2020. For more information about the Art Emporium, you can visit their website at: http://www.artemporium.net/.
Both submissions to the juried 2018 Emerging Artists Exhibition were accepted. spring meadow and wildflowers II were on display at the Culture Center in the Commissioner’s Gallery in Charleston, WV from August 23, 2018 until February 27, 2019. spring meadow is the painting at the top of every page on this site.
A selection of paintings was on display at Contemporary Galleries on Smith St. in Charleston, WV until February 26, 2019.