Artist Statement

My goal as an artist is to open our minds to the visual and graphic landscape we look at every day but never really see. If we pay attention, we find that our urban landscape has a story to tell about our culture and our communities. For many years I have photographed vintage neon signs, brick wall ghost signs, graffiti and other examples of language and graphics in our environment. Recently, I have since expanded my photography to our urban social landscape. I use these photographs to create limited edition, hand-bound artist books that are at once a celebration of the vernacular and my own small effort to preserve our social, cultural and commercial landscape.

Biography

Laura Russell is a photographer and book artist who creates hand-bound, limited-edition artist books that incorporate photographs of our urban landscape and tell a story about our culture and our communities. She has participated in national and international book arts and fine art exhibitions. Her books are collected by individual collectors and are in major collections at museums, libraries, universities and corporations. Laura is also the owner of 23 Sandy Gallery, a fine art gallery in Portland. She lectures frequently on various topics related to the book and paper arts, click here to learn how to have talk to your group.

Collections

Museum of Modern Art, New York
San Francsico Museum of Modern Art, California
The Tate Collection, London
The University of Washington, Seattle
Scripps College, Claremont, CA
The University of Oregon Architecture and Allied Arts Library, Eugene, OR
Colorado College Library, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Ringling School of Art & Design, Sarasota, Florida
Portland Art Museum, Art Insight Resource Center, Portland, OR
StorageTek Corporation, Broomfield, Colorado
The Newark Public Library, Newark, New Jersey
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
The New York Public Library, New York
The Denver Public Library, Denver, Colorado
The University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
The Lockton Corporation, Denver, Colorado
The University of North Texas, Denton, Texax
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
University of Miami, Florida
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida
California State University, Hayward, California
Scripps College, Claremont, California
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Library
Cerritios Public Library, Cerritos, California
University of California, Santa Barbara, Davidson Library Special Collections
Otis School of Art & Design, Los Angeles, California
Dartmouth College, Baker-Berry Library, New Haven, Connecticut

Exhibition History

2012
College Book Arts Association Members Exhibition, San Francisco Public Library

2011
The Un[framed] Photograph, Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
Urban/Urbane, Readers Art 11, Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
Puget Sound Book Artists Members Exhibition, Tacoma, WA
Design Book Art, Environmental Design Library, University of California, Berkeley

2010
Book Arts Invitational, Bright Hill Literary Arts Center, Treadwell, NY
Photo Book Works, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO
The Book as Art: Hand2Hand, Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA

2009
Beyond Words, The Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, Long Beach Island, NJ
Turning the Page, VisArts/Pyramid Atlantic, Silver Spring, MD

2008
Off the Page, The Greenhouse at Guernsey, Channel Island, England
Tango, Onda Gallery, Portland, Oregon
Keep Portland Weird, Juried Exhibition. Portland City Hall
Peripheral Vision, Inner Light Photographic Society, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland
Photography in Book Arts and the Book in Photography. New Image Gallery, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Photoworks, Solo Show, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO

2007
Urban Decay, Solo Show, Saginaw Valley State University, Saginaw, Michigan
The Book Ever After, College of the Mainland Fine Art Gallery, Texas
The Art of the Book, Bainbridge Arts Center, Seattle
Road Trip, Minneapolis Center for Book Arts

2006
Mutilated/Cultivated Environments, The Center for Book Arts, New York

2005
Book + Art = ?, Core New Art Space, Denver, Colorado
Miniature Book Society, Miniature Book Exhibition, New Orleans
Photographic Artist Books, Art Books Press, Seattle, Washington
The Intensive Spirit, Steamboat Springs Art Council, Colorado
Reader’s Art 5, Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis

2004
Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Fair and Conference, Silver Spring, Maryland
Art Books Press, Annual Juried Artist Book Show, Seattle
Guild of Bookworkers NWxSW Exhibit, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa and Emory University, Atlanta
BookFest, New York City
The Second Annual Book Arts Lounge, Curator & Exhibitor, Denver
The Veil: What Remains Hidden, Women’s Caucus for Art, Colorado State University Curfman Gallery

2003
Creativity Unbound: Artists’ Books from the Special Collections Department, University of Colorado, Boulder
Book Forms: Form in Reform, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art
National Book and Language Juried Show, CORE New Art Space, Denver
Miniature Book Society, Miniature Book Exhibition, Toronto
Guild of Book Workers Midwest Chapter, Stone Eye, Traveling Exhibit
Round Up 2003, Guild of Bookworkers Rocky Mountain Chapter Show
Miniature Book Society, Miniature Book Exhibition, Toronto

2002
Craft USA 2002, National Juried Exhibition, New Canaan, CT
Seconda Mostra Internazionale di Legatura d’Arte in Italia. Art Bookbinding Exhibition in Macerata, Italy. Set book exhibition of Il Canticle Delle Creature.
Spark Gallery, The Painted Book, Curator, Denver
Bright Hill Press National Book Arts Exhibition, Treadwell, NY
University of Indianapolis, Art of the Book, National Juried Exhibition
Oregon Book Arts Guild Biennial Juried Book Show, Portland

2001
Nine Gallery, Annual Juried Exhibition, Denver, Colorado
Women’s Caucus for Art, Group Show, Edge Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Book Buffs, Artist’s Books Exhibition, Denver, Colorado

Teaching and Lectures

Laura lectures frequently on various topics related to the book and paper arts, click here to learn how to have talk to your group.

Keynote Lecture, Marketing 101 for Book Artists, Focus on the Book Arts, Forest Grove, OR, 2011
Photographic Artist Books, Puget Sound Book Artists, Tacoma, WA, 2010
Photographic Artist Books Workshop and Lecture, San Francisco Center for the Book, 2006
Digital Artist Books Workshop, Guild of Bookworkers NW Chapter, 2006
Photographic Artist Books Lecture, Pacific Northwest Center for Photography, 2006
Marketing 101 for Book Artists Lecture, British Columbia Book Arts Guild, 2005
Photographic Artist Books Workshop, Art Books Press, Seattle, Washington, 2005
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Central Florida, Orlando, 2005
Colorado Wall Dogs Lecture, Society for Commercial Archeology Annual Conference, Seattle, 2004
Visiting Artist Lecture, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, 2002

Publications

Portrait of a Dying Community, The Oregonian Newspaper, February 2007
Southeast Examiner, Portland Open Studios Review, October 2005
The Crafts Report, Article, Marketing 101 for Book Artists, September 2005.
Bellingham Weekly, Women in the Arts, March 2004
Crafts Report, Insight Section, February 2003
Dog Eared Magazine, Issue Six 2002, Miniature Books

Affiliations

Portland Art Dealers Association, Past Vice President
Photo Lucida, Portland, Oregon, Past Board Member
Colorado Chapter Women’s Caucus for Art, Former President

Education & Professional

B.B.A., Northwood University, Midland, Michigan
23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, Oregon, Owner/Director – www.23sandy.com