Lara Loutrel

December 4, 2018 - February 9, 2019

White, Grey – AI8, drypoint,
marker, pencil
(click to enlarge)

My first encounter with Lara Loutrel's work was at the Fort Point Open Studios in Boston. For me, her compositions called up immediate associations with Suprematist geometric abstraction and architectural drawings inspired by theories and principles of Modern Art movements such as the Bauhaus and De Stijl. To whatever debt she may owe this lineage of stylistic evolution, she gives us some clues to her vision and methodology in her artist statement (excerpted below).

I am fascinated by the lonely, harsh, weird and unbalanced qualities of fragmentary dark structures outlined against a dull white sky.

I create abstract 3-dimensional work and printmaking-based collages in black and white. The 2-dimensional work is built as if it is a structure — I build with lines and cuts in the paper and inked pieces of board. The 3-dimensional work is constructed with black and white geometric forms. It explores the spacial interaction of the work with its surroundings and how the work changes as the viewer moves around it.

Rdvik – S171, drypoint with paper additions
(click to enlarge)

Lara holds a BFA in Printmaking from the Massachusetts College of Art. Her solo shows include exhibitions at FP3 Gallery (Boston); Dom strážcu mosta (Štúrovo, Slovakia); gallery@ArtBlock (Boston); South End Branch Library (Boston) and the Sheetz Gallery (Penn State Altoona). Her works have appeared in numerous group shows, among them Newport Contemporary Fine Arts (Rhode Island), The Boston Printmakers Selects: A Distillation from the 2013 North American Print Biennial (California), New Art Center (Newton), Khaki Gallery (Boston), Carroll and Sons (Boston), MPG Contemporary (Boston), La Galería at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts (Boston), Mills Gallery (Boston), Printmaking Biennial of Douro (Portugal), Nachtundnebel 08 (Berlin), Gallery Aferro (New Jersey), Foundry Art Centre (Missouri), Hunterdon Museum of Art (New Jersey), Axis Gallery (California), and many others across the United States.

Station – Panta, drypoint, relief, gold leaf
(click to enlarge)

She was awarded an artist residency at the Bridge Guard (Slovakia), an Artist's Resource Trust Grant (Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation), a Johnson & Johnson Purchase Prize (Hunterdon Museum of Art, New Jersey), a Gallery Award at MPG Contemporary (Boston), a Group 4 Award (Foundry Art Centre, Missouri), and a Juror's Selection Honorable Mention in Printmaking (30th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition, Illinois).

Her work is part of the Boston Public Library's print collection.

Please note that Lara has a commitment to a residency in Colorado during the winter months and cannot be available to visit Groton during the run of her exhibit.

This exhibit is made possible by the Groton Public Library Endowment Trust.

Ken Hansen,
Curator

Station – Soxi, drypoint, relief, gold leaf
(click to enlarge)