Lauren Rago’s studio practice explores the potential of combining materials such as pastel, charcoal, paints, tape, collage, and nearly forgotten drawings and paintings. She does not begin a piece or a series knowing what it will look like. Through a focus on composition and placement combined with layering, erasing, tearing away, and smudging, she seeks to create moments of depth, sound, and meaning through visual tension and harmony. Rago often starts and finishes a piece within a single studio session. This limitation of time provides her with the excitement of new beginnings and visual possibilities.

Recently, Rago began incorporating handmade paper into her work as both a material and conceptual foundation. She creates paper from discarded materials gathered from her studio and the world around her such as failed drawings, torn scraps, packaging, and natural fibers, transforming what would otherwise be waste into new surfaces for artmaking. This shift reflects her commitment to cultivating a more sustainable, potentially zero-waste studio practice. Collage plays a key role in this effort, allowing her to reuse remnants of older work as vital elements in new compositions.

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Residing and working in New York City, Lauren Rago is a mixed-media artist focused on creating non-representational work. A sampling of her recent exhibitions include shows with League Street Studios (PA), Fleisher Art Memorial (PA), ArtSpace 1241 (PA), Silvermine Art Center (CT),  Atlantic Gallery (NYC), Prince Street Gallery (NYC), and Torpedo Factory Art Center (VA). Recently, Lauren held a studio space and practice at Anderson Ranch Arts Center (CO) in Summer 2024 and 2023 where she created 2D works as well as a large-scale installation. She received her BFA from Rutgers University in 2011 and her MA in Art Education from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016.

In addition to her studio practice, Lauren is a passionate educator, researcher, published scholarly writer, and conference presenter of K-12 contemporary art pedagogy.

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To receive more information, inquire here and be sure to check out Instagram for studio updates.