My work explores abstraction through paper, soft pastel, charcoal, collage, and mixed media. I begin each piece without a fixed image, allowing it to develop through layering, erasing, tearing, wrapping, and rearranging. Working intuitively, I respond to what happens on the surface rather than following a predetermined plan.

Place has become an important part of my practice. Rather than depicting specific landscapes, I absorb the colors, textures, and atmosphere of the environments I spend time in, allowing those experiences to shape each body of work.

Alongside my exhibited work, I maintain a low-waste studio practice. I reuse discarded drawings, paper scraps, packaging, and natural fibers to make handmade paper and small artist books. These projects give studio materials a second life and reflect my interest in reuse, process, and transformation.

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Lauren Rago is a New York City-based artist. She was an artist-in-residence at Burren College of Art in County Clare, Ireland, in 2026 and maintained a summer studio practice at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in 2023 and 2024. Her work has been exhibited at venues including Silvermine Arts Center (CT), Prince Street Gallery and LIC-A Art Space (NYC), and Torpedo Factory Art Center (VA). Rago received a BFA from Rutgers University and an MA in Art Education from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

In addition to her studio practice, she is an educator and department chair, researcher peer-reviewed writer, and conference presenter focused on contemporary art education.