Geoffrey Laurence – Art and Paintings

I was born in Paterson, New Jersey not long after the end of World WII. My parents were naturalized Americans, refugees from Silesia (a country that no longer exists) and holocaust survivors.

IN MEMORIAM

Alfred Edward Laurence, Dachau Inmate
12/12/1910 – 28/12/2006

~ May You Finally Find Peace ~

When I was 4, my parents moved to England, where I was educated and lived for the next 38 yrs.

I attended three art schools in England over seven years during which time I became very interested in learning the skills of drawing and painting that I had observed in many  classical paintings.

 CONTACT GEOFFREY LAURENCE

GEOFFREY’S BACKGROUND

Over the next 20 years I worked freelance in various different art related fields. I worked as an illustrator for magazines such as Woman’s World and Look Now, a graphic designer for companies like BP and Pineapple, as a photographer for a London newspaper and as a designer for various fashion companies like Muscle Sport, Pamplemouse, Katherine Hamnett as well as designing T shirt ranges for Walt Disney, Burton and French Connection.

In the 90’s I became an interior designer and designed restaurants in London for the Zen chain and others. My work was featured in Royal Institute of British Architects magazine, Vogue and the London Evening Standard.

During those years, I focused as much time as was available to drawing and painting the figure and exhibited whenever I was offered the opportunity to.

I returned to fulltime study of classical painting techniques and in 1992 moved to New York where I received my Masters degree Cum Laude at the New York Academy of Art.

In 1996 I moved to New Mexico, where I continue to work and live. My childhood exposure to the arts has always been a foundation for the life long intensity of response I feel toward painting and drawing.

INFLUENCES

The work of other painters, from cave paintings to European masterworks, offered both fascination and real comfort from a kind of loneliness and isolation I felt as a young boy.

I received so much meaning and direction from the work of other artists that as a result I have continuously tried to be as devoted and generous by giving back through my own work and teaching.

I am suspicious of too much ‘talking about’ art and not enough ‘doing’. Painting is about looking not speaking. Our current society has been overrun with ‘experts’ who want to explain art without ever having experienced its creation.

It is particularly apparent in the reams of ‘art speak’ that are necessary today to justify and explain the majority of contemporary conceptual art.

I believe that mark making is a lot older than verbal language. We were poking around with sticks in the sand before we were writing on walls. This primal longevity is still a major part of being human, a sacred distinction of the soul that will always separate us and elevate us from being merely mechanical.

The striving and longing to establish and re-establish ourselves in this way is reflected in the technical accomplishments of artistic mastery during the many centuries that we have been making paintings.

As I watch my own work evolve, two general themes appear evident in the work of the last twenty years. The first, an intention and struggle to find and maintain a link between classical painting pre 1900 and modern painting since 1900 and a desire to solve the problem of preventing the one from denying the other.

I feel very much the pressure of 600 years of art and yet wish to make paintings that are in every sense, if possible, contemporary to my time.

The second is a continuing dialogue and attempt to find meaningful pictorial response to the Holocaust , mainly a result of my being the offspring of concentration camp survivors and feeling very much connected emotionally for me to the tragic history of my family.

The Holocaust and the Artist

The fact that the events of the Holocaust are only 77+ yrs away from the present gives a measure of urgency to the need to understand the horrors that were and continue to be perpetrated by humans against humans.

I do not consider myself a naturalistic realist nor do I currently have any interest in creating an entertaining magic trick of illusionist experience for the viewer on a flat surface.

The easy descent into nostalgia for past art forms which much ‘realism’ today provides, does not satisfy my needs from contemporary painting. I am more concerned with the difficulty of creating emotional responses through the work and with the painting process, of moving and experiencing paint in different ways with a brush and above all of engaging the viewer in an emotional narrative.

All figure painting is by its very nature artificial and an abstraction from the experience of observed life – I have yet to see a figure in a painting step out into real life!

I do not believe photographic reality conveys the depth of  human observational experience, it conveys mechanical reproduction of light particles bouncing off surfaces, nothing more.

However, I find myself currently attempting to integrate the digital world’s acceptance of photographic reality as the language of choice into my work along with my desire to continue paint from life in order to construct narratives that reflect contemporary life.

I would rather describe myself an ’emotionalist’ than a ‘realist’ painter. I desire to make my communication easily recognizable and thus rely on a ‘realistic’ language but I primarily focus on its subliminal emotional effect.

I hope you enjoy looking at the work and that it provokes inner response.

Geoffrey Laurence 2022 ©

SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

Giorgio Armani
R. Balser
Sandy Besser
Ronald Collins
George & Lynn Goldstein
Gene Hackman
Karen L. King
Linda Law
R. Lerner
Ernest J. Schwartz
Dennis Smith
D. Tanna
Howard A.Tullman
Charles B. Wessler
E. Guggenheim Wilkinson

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas, Texas
New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico
London Borough of Camden, UKSOLO SHOWS

SOLO SHOWS

2016 ‘Iswaswillbe’ Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado

2015 ‘Emotion in Motion’, Lacuna Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2010 ‘Inheritance’ Skotia Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2006 ‘The Reality of Things’ LewAllen Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2005 ‘Iswaswillbe’ Meisel Art Centre, Denver, Colorado

2001 ‘The Shape of Life’ Linda Durham Contemporary Art, New Mexico

2000 ‘The Truth Dazzles Gradually’ Spazio Gallery, Austin , Texas

1998 ‘New Paintings’ Fred Kline Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

1997 ‘New works’ Fred Kline Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

1991 Kunstsalon Straetz, Freiburg, Germany

1990 Bartleys Gallery, Dulwich, UK

1990 Pineapple South Kensington, London, UK

1990 Chelsea Arts Club, London, UK

AWARDS

2018 Poets Artists/Bauhaus Award
2017 Palm Art Award
2006 George Sugarman Foundation Grant
2004 Robert Rauschenberg Award

PUBLICATIONS

‘Figurative Art Today’ – American Art Collector (John O’Herne), July 2019
Cover image, Journal of Academic Medicine, Association of American Medical Colleges April 2017
‘Tradition and Transformation,Three Millenia of Jewish Art’ – Prof.Ori Z. Soltes, published by Canal Street Studios 2016
‘Beauty’s Vineyard’ – Prof. Kimberly Vrudny, Published by Liturgical Press – 2016
‘’Art Forum’ – THE magazine, February/March 2016
‘Emotion in motion’ – Santa Fean Magazine, December 2015
‘Inward meaning’ – American Art Collector (John O’Hern), March 2015
‘The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, Volume 10: 1973–2005’ – Deborah Dash Moore, Nurith Gertz 2013
‘The Holocaust Series’ – Forward essay by Prof.Ori Z. Soltes, published by Lomnitz Press – 2010
‘Art of Light, Art of Life’ – Santa Fean Magazine (Devon Jackson) – October/November 2010
‘Studio Visit with Geoffrey Laurence 2010’ – Youtube video (FishMonkey Films) – July 2010
‘Transcending the West’ – American Art Collector (John O’Hern) – April 2010
‘On the Lighter Side’ – American Art Collector (John O’Hern) – April 2009
‘Portrait of a man’ – American Art Collector (John O’Hern) – June 2008
‘Classical Painting Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice’  – Juliette Aristides, published by Watson-Guptill- 2008
‘Ashen Rainbow’  – Prof.Ori Z. Soltes, published by Eshel books- 2007
‘Art across the Ages’  (DVD Lecture #48) – Ori Soltes for The Teaching Company – October 2007
‘Frame of Mind’ – Santa Fean Magazine (Hollis Walker) – October/November 2007
‘Let’s Draw!’ – Albuquerque Journal North (Kathaleen Roberts) – 23 March 2007
‘Artworld’ – Art in America – March 2007
‘Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice’  – Juliette Aristides, published by Watson-Guptill- 2006
‘Magical Realism’ – Art-Talk (Renee Targos) – February 2007
‘The Art of the ‘Other’ Santa Fe’ – American Art Collector (John O’Hern) – January 2007
‘Studio visits’ – THE Magazine (Guy Cross) – November 2006
‘Online interview ’ – Artquotes.com – November 2006
‘Laurence’s Lament’ – Santa Fe Reporter (Zane Fischer) – 4 October 2006
Who’s Who in America  – 60th edition (Marquis) – 2006
‘Unfolding Realities’ – Westword (Michael Paglia) – 22 December 2005
‘Art from Pain’ – Rocky Mountain News (Mary Voelz Chandler) – 16 December 2005
‘Iswaswillbe’ – Meisel Gallery catalogue notes (Ori Soltes) – 13 November 2005
‘Model Artists’ – Santa Fe Journal North (Kate McGraw)  – 28 October 2005
‘Return to Realism’ – Las Vegas Sun (Kristen Peterson) – 31 March 2005
‘Postmodern Is Over!’ – City Life Las Vegas (Kelle Schillaci) – 24 March 2005
“Fresh Perspective” – Santa Fe Journal North (John Arnold) – 18 March 2005
“Fixing the World” –  Ori Soltes – University Press of New England – 2003
“Peace & War” – Albuquerque Journal North (Tom Collins) – 23 May 2003
“Art of War” – Pg 3 –             Santa Fe Reporter –             14 May 2003
“The Art Of War” cover story – Santa Fe Reporter – 7 May 2003
“Representing Representation IV” – Arnot Museum (John O’Hern) – April 2003
“Jewish Artists on the Edge” – Art News (Charles Ruas) – April 2002
“Painting the Holocaust” – The Jerusalem Report– April 22 2002
“Who owns the show?” – The Jerusalem Report  (Yigal Scheifer) – February 25 2002
“Gallery Previews” – The Santa Fean – January 2002
“Body Language” – Albuquerque Journal North (Joe Basiste) – 21 December 2001
“Jewish Artists on the Edge” – Ori Soltes – Yeshiva University Museum – 2000
Radio interview – KTTX, Austin, Texas  – 5 May 2000
“Reality is Focus” – Austin American Statesman (Michael Barnes) – May 2000
“Art of the Covenant” – The New Mexican (Lynn Cline) – 2 June 2000
“Gallery Examines Modern Realism”  – Albuquerque Journal North (Joe Basiste) – 14 July 2000
“The Genetic Surprise” – Wilson Quarterly (Philip J Longman) – Autumn – 2000
“Arts & Culture” – Hadassah Magazine (Judith Fein) – October 2000
“Out West” – Harmony Hammond – CCA Inc.  – 1999
“Out West” – THE Magazine – October – 1999
“New American Paintings” – #24 – Open Studios Press – November 1999
“Artists Express Visual Truth” Taos News (Phaedra Greenwood) – September 1999
“Gallery Spotlight” – Santa Fe Focus (Emily Van Cleve) – June 1999
“Slice of Life” – Taos News (Rick Romancito) – 9 September 1999
“Tension Gives an Energy Beyond the Ordinary”- The New Mexican (Joe Quattro) – 6 August 1999
“Taos Art Museum” – Santa Fe Focus (Suzanne Deats) – August 1999
“ NM Artists Enjoy National Exposure” – Albuquerque Journal (Wesley Pulkka) – 21 November 1999
“The Missing Nude” – The New Mexican (Hollis Walker) – 10 April 1998
“The Shadow Side” – The New Mexican (Lynn Cline)  – 16 October 1998
“In the Galleries”  – Dallas Star Telegram (Suzanne Akhtar) – 19 July 1998
“Roadside Visions” – Albuquerque Journal (Michael Pahos) –11 July 1997
“A Second Look” – The New Mexican (Gussie Fauntleroy) – 11 December 1997
“Here’s looking at You, Kid” – Albuquerque Journal North (Malin Wilson) – 25 December 1997
“Painter Dives into Rifts of Human Existence” – Albuquerque Journal (Wesley Pulkka) – 28 December 1997
“Akt Art” – Freiburg Badische Zeitung – Nr.26 Seite 6 – October 1992
“5 Internationale Kunstaustellung Freiburg” catalogue – 1992
Hampstead & Highgate News (London) –  6 December 1991
“Metropolitan”  – Cosmopolitan magazine (England) –  June 1981

EDUCATION

1993-95 New York Academy of Art (MFA cum laude)
1969-71 St. Martins School of Art (BA)
1968-69 London College of Printing
1965-68 Byam Shaw school of Art (LCAD)

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CREDITS AND COPYRIGHT

The Holocaust Series art by Geoffrey Laurence.

PUBLISHER: Lomnitz Press
© 2010/2023
ISBN 978-0-578-07578-5

Artwork images and Web pages from this site are copyright of Geoffrey Laurence and may not be duplicated or redistributed in any form without written permission. If you would like to use images from this site, please contact the artist for permission.

Geoffrey Laurence’s paintings have been exhibited across the US and in Europe including the Las Vegas Art Museum, Yeshiva University Museum and the Arnot Art Museum. His work can currently be seen at the Museum of Biblical Art (Dallas) and the Fulginiti Pavilion at Anschutz Medical Campus.

ISWASWILLBE HOLOCAUST SERIES EXHIBIT | GEOFFREY LAURENCE
Center for Bioethics and Humanities — University of Colorado Anschutz

Please contact us with questions related to this exhibit.