About

Bio

Laurie Shapiro (b. 1990, New York) is a painter and installation artist based in NYC. She received her BFA in 2012 from Carnegie Mellon University. She has exhibited internationally at the Dyer Arts Center, San Diego Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, Contemporary Jewish Museum, Nashville International Airport, and SACI Florence. Her enveloping installations have been commissioned for Otherworld, Walter Studios, and Weedmaps, where her piece “Flowers Are Not A Crime” was shown at various festivals, including The Governors Ball, Life is Beautiful, and Cali Vibes. Shapiro has completed artist residencies at the American Academy in Rome, the Kala Art Institute, Surel’s Place, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. She has been awarded several grants, including a California Council for the Arts Fellowship and a Puffin Grant. Her work is internationally found in public and private collections, including at SACI Florence, Bilkent University, and the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. Her work has appeared in TV segments, including WTAE and KTNV, Jhene Aiko’s 4/20 Performance with Weedmaps, and in publications, including Fiber Arts Now, Artillery Magazine, and LA Weekly.

Statement

I create all-encompassing, visually stimulating installations and individual pieces representing an amplification of my inner world. Being hard-of-hearing, my experience of the outer world is often muted. I primarily understand the world through visual stimuli and internal feelings, and this, in turn, colors all of my work. My internal emotional experiences manifest as psychedelic womb-like environments enveloping viewers in ecofeminist spaces of safety and care. I meticulously and meditatively labor over my work, handcrafting each element into painted pieces layered with sewing, screen printing, and sculpture. Paintings are particularly expressive, with subjects often using exaggerated gestures to communicate. Floral patterns and imagery are central to my artistic practice—drawings of plants that “speak” to me. Heavily informed by my internal and spiritual experiences, my work urges viewers to listen not through noise but through feeling and intuition.

CV

Born

1990, Mineola, NY, USA

Education
2012 BFA, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2011 Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey

Selected Installation Commissions
  2024 BNA x Bonnaroo, Silent Disco, Sculpture installation of ten hanging pieces at Nashville International Airport
  2023 San Diego Museum of Art, We Are All Connected To Each Other Through Nature, outdoor interactive and
enveloping installations (18 x 12 x 13 feet), water-based paints and screen printed drawings on vinyl with
20 accompanying handmade lanterns, San Diego, CA
   - Also shown (2023) at Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh PA; and Dyer Arts Center
Otherworld, Returning, full-room enveloping installation, (16 x 14 x 16 feet), water based paints, screen printed
drawings, and sewing on muslin, meditation cushions, painted floor, handmade lights, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Walter Studios, The Joy of Purpose, full-room enveloping and interactive installation, (32 x 14 x 14 feet), water
based paints and screen printed drawings on textiles and paper and handmade lights, Phoenix, AZ
2021 Weedmaps, Flowers Are Not A Crime, outdoor interactive and enveloping installation (15 x 15 x 10 feet), water
based paints and screen printed drawings on vinyl and handmade lights, Irving, CA
   - Shown at Life Is Beautiful, Las Vegas, NV; California Vibes, Long Beach, CA; Governors Ball, NYC, NY
San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, Through The Flowers, outdoor interactive and enveloping installation
(15 x 15 x 10 feet), water based paints and screen printed drawings on vinyl and handmade lights, San
Luis Obispo, CA
  2019 Coffeeworld, Coffee Jungle, full-room enveloping and interactive installation, (24 x 14 x 18 feet), water based
paints and screen printed drawings on textiles and paper, handmade lights, and astroturf, Coffee World,
Los Angeles, CA
  2018 Otherworld, Blanket Fort, full-room enveloping and interactive installation, (20 x 18 x 16 feet), water-based paints
and screen printed drawings on textiles and mylar, handmade lights, Columbus, OH

Solo Exhibitions
2025 soft rise, The Canvas 3.0, New York NY
2024 Meditated Landscape, Surel’s Place, Boise, ID
The Renaissance of the Feminine Divine, SACI Gallery, Florence, Italy
2023 You Don’t Need To Hear To Listen, Dyer Arts Center, RIT/NTID, Rochester, NY
2022 The Glendale Alteria, The Glendale Galleria, Glendale Arts and Culture Commission, Glendale, CA
2019 ALCHEMY TUNNEL, Radiant Space, Los Angeles, CA
2018 All Yoni Is Love, de Plume Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Before You Were Born, Radiant Space, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Before You Were Born, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 (upcoming) Museo della Moda e del Tessuto Napoli Fondazione Mondragone, Naples, Italy
2025 Benefit Art Auction, McColl Center, Charlotte, NC
2024 Brand 52, Brand Library, Glendale, CA
California Jewish Open, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA
Benefit Art Auction, McColl Center, Charlotte, NC
Every Woman Biennial, La Mama Gallery, New York, NY
2023 Couples, Galatea Fine Art, Boston, MA
Culture of Care, The Anthropology of Motherhood, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA
2022 45th Anniversary Exhibition: New Directions, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA
Tight In A Bud, Luna Anais Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Taking it to the Next Degree (Juried Show), Avenue 50 Studios, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Digital Shorts, San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo, CA
2020 Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, Coastline College, Newport Beach, CA
Bemis Annual Art Auction, Bemis Art Center, Omaha, NE
Eshet Heyil, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles
2019 eVe (Empowerment vs Exploitation), Warehouse 410, Oakland, CA
Phase 2 Fundraiser, Various Small Fires, Los Angeles CA
Temple of the Future, Paramount Academy of Music, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Office Hours, Main Museum, Los Angeles, CA
30th Anniversary / Art Expo, Mars Gallery, Chicago, IL
We Rise, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Raise a Brush (benefit show), Lottie Rose Art Gallery, Oakland, CA
2016 Tying the Knot, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA
Wild/Mind, Gearbox Gallery, Oakland, CA. (Juror: George Lawson)
2014 Where to From There?, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA. (Juror: Arnold J. Kemp)

Awards/Grants/Fellowships
2024 Winner, Spring 2024 International 2D Online Exhibition, Soul of Artists, HI
2023 Individual Artists Fellowship, California Council for the Arts, CA
Center for Cultural Innovation, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Puffin Foundation Grant, Teaneck, NJ
2021 Vibrant Cities Art Grant, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Artist’ Fellowship, New York, NY
2020 Center for Cultural Innovation, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Surge Research Grant, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Residencies
2026   Artist-In-Residence, Joshua Tree National Park, Joshua Tree, CA (future)
            Artist-In-Residence, Windate Fellowship Awarddee, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT (future)
2025   Artist-In-Residence, Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Stone Ridge, NY
2024   Artist-In Residence, Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City, NE
Artist-In Residence, Surel’s Place, Garden City, ID
Artist-In-Residence, Arteles Creative Center, Finland
Artist-In-Residence, Ann Weber Artist Residency, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Artist-In-Residence, SACI (Studio Arts College International) x Singulart, Florence, Italy
2022 Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome, Italy
2017 Artist-In-Residence, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA
2014 Artist-In-Residence, Digital Art Studio, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2012 Artist-In-Residence, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

Selected Bibliography
Natasha Ntone, “SACI x Singulart, Meet Resident Artist Laurie Shapiro,” Singulart Magazine, May 23, 2024
Shana Nys Dambrot, "Meet Analog Immersive Painter Laurie Shapiro," LA Weekly, November 20, 2023
Joanne Harrop, “Artist listens to inner voice through exhibit at Three Rivers Arts Festival,” Trib Live, June 9, 2023
Adam Reinherz, “California installation artist returns to Pittsburgh with big piece and bold message,” Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, June 5, 2023
“Three Rivers Arts Festival Set for June 2-11 in downtown Pittsburgh,” WTAE, Pittsburgh, PA, June 1, 2023 (TV segment)
Von Peter Dorn, “Männerbilder,” Frankfurter Allgemeine, Germany, March 2022
  “Making A Statement At Life Is Beautiful,” KTNV-TV, Las Vegas, NV, September 23, 2021 (TV segment)
Weedmaps, “Life is Beautiful with Weedmaps and artist Laurie Shapiro,” Weedmaps News, Irvine, CA, September 14, 2021
Nicholas Wilton, “The New World of Laurie Shapiro,” Art2Life, Sausalito, CA, March 7, 2021
  Kaitlyn Little, “ 'Through the Flowers' art project featured in downtown San Luis Obispo,” KSBY-TV, San Luis Obispo, CA, April 1, 2021 (TV segment)
Shana Nys Dambrot, “Art Pick: ALCHEMY TUNNEL At Radiant Space,” LA Weekly, October 4, 2019
Genie Davis, “Radiant Space: Laurie Shapiro,” artillery, October 30, 2019
James L. Chapman, “Hung Up: An Evening of Stars In Your Eyes,” Cultural Daily, January 2, 2019
Megan O’Sullivan, “12 Art Installation To See (And Share) Now,” Lonny, January 17, 2018 (featured alongside Ai Wei Wei and Yayoi Kusama)
Johnny Otto, “Seen: Shapiro’s Temple,” Left Bank, January 8, 2019
Sydney Walters, “Laurie Shapiro’s Before You Were Born,” Art and Cake, January 24, 2018
Genie Davis, “Gankstas, Hipsters, Art Lovers,” artillery, January 10, 2018
Lisa Beebe, “Step Inside an Otherworldly Psychedelic Cave 1,000 Hours in the Making,” LA Magazine, January 8, 2018
  Marcia Young, “A Look At Our Community,” Fiber Arts Now, Summer 2017 (magazine in print)
Camille Miller, “Dancing Inside a ‘Walk-In-Womb’,” metroactive, May 21, 2017

Visiting Artist Lectures and Presentations
2024 Intro to Screen Printing, Sun Vallery Museum of Art, Ketchum, ID, November 8
What Does Success Look Like As An Artist? Webinar with Artcloud, October 17
Various Workshops, Surel’s Place, Garden City, ID, September and October
Artist Talk, SACI (Studio Arts College International), Florence, Italy, April 10
2023 Visiting Artist, Painting in the Expanded Field, Carnegie Mellon University, September 20
2020 Art Gallery Lecture, Coastline College, Newport Beach, September 16
Visiting Artist Presentation, Light Bringer Project, Pasadena, CA, October 20
2019 Lecture/Presentation, Pacific Palisades Art Association, Pacific Palisades, CA, September 21
Presentation, Women Painters West, Los Angeles, CA, April 5
2017 Presentation and Workshops, San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, April 7, May 5, June 2
2014 Visiting Artist Presentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, March 13-15

Selected Collections
  Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
  Dyer Arts Cennter, Rochester, NY
  Kimmel Harding Nelson Center, Nebraska City, NE
  Otherworld, Columbus, OH
  Otherworld, Philadelphia, PA
  SACI, Florence, Italy
  San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, San Jose, CA
  Surel’s Place, Garden City, ID
  Walter Studios, Phoenix, AZ
  Walter Where?House, Phoenix, AZ
  Weedmaps, Irvine, CA

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