Lauren Moses

Lauren Moses received a BA in History from The University of Virginia and a BFA in Painting & Printmaking with a minor in Art History from Virginia Commonwealth University. Moses' work has been displayed at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Nicolet College in Rhinelander, WI, Healdsburg Center for the Arts in Healdsburg, CA, Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, VA, McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville, VA, The FAB Gallery in Richmond, VA, Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, CO, and Mountain Lake Biological Research Station, University of Virginia in Pembroke, VA.

Moses' work is included in public institutions, including The University of Virginia Hospital, as well as personal and corporate collections across the country and abroad. She currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband and three children.


Artist Statement

In my paintings, I engage in a process of constant layering, “packing in” imagery as a means to unpack the complexities of power hierarchies embedded within visual media. I draw on art history to interrogate questions that still plague us. Overbearing or problematized religious, political, and allegorical tropes of the past exist in stark contrast to an ever-barraging free-for-all of unregulated content today. Who can we trust to tell our stories?

This paradox lends itself to a reactionary, unsettled, and chaotic result in my work; the paintings cannot be fully known or entirely seen. Therein lies their beauty. For me, painting is fundamentally tied to drawing—drawing as both a means of seeing and a method for raising questions. It involves a process of breaking down form and reconstituting it anew, an act of continual beginnings rather than a pursuit of resolution. Nothing is certain.

I am captivated by the relationship between painting and time, where action and gesture are not merely ephemeral but caught in a frame, creating an immediate recorded history. Each layer of paint serves as a testament to fresh starts, mistakes, and reconfigurations—an ongoing dance of trying, failing, and trying again.

Within my practice, I strive for freedom, searching for an inner language that resonates deeply. I turn to art histories, as well as relational contemporary influences in film, music, and photography. This amalgamation feels like a process of sifting, acting as a catalyst for exploring the potential of structure and meaning.

There is an undeniable parallel between my painting and my lifelong journey as a musician. As an old-time fiddler and singer, I embrace the passing down of histories, melodies, and narratives. Each interpretation, led by improvisation and intuition, is a unique reflection of both the past and the present. In this way, my work is not just a static object but an evolving narrative—composing and decomposing before the viewer.

My paintings oscillate between the familiar and the unknown, inviting viewers to engage with compositions that appear to fall apart upon closer inspection. They urge a closer look, revealing layers of meaning that shift and transform over time. It is here, in this delicate balance between the known and unknowable, that I find my artistic voice—a space filled with possibility and endless exploration.


Instagram: @laurenmoses3