Bio/Resume

Biography

laurarussell-mug-cas-sq-500wLaura 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 founder of 23 Sandy Gallery, a fine art gallery in Portland, 2007-2017, where she organized 19 international juried book art exhibitions. 23 Sandy is now owned and operated by Erin Mickelson and is located in Santa Fe, NM. Laura lectures frequently on various topics related to the book and paper arts, click here to schedule a talk for your group.

Artist Statement

As a photographer and book artist I create hand-bound, limited-edition artist books that tell visual, narrative and conceptual stories about our culture and our communities. My goal as an artist is to open our minds to the world we look at every day but never really see.

Shooting daily on my morning walks, bike rides across the Sonoran Desert or during frequent travels near and far, I consider my photos documentation and preservation of our visual, social and commercial landscape. They are also frequently, a celebration of the vernacular. Eventually, a body of work emerges from my wanderings and the visual stories evolves into a book.

Working in the book form allows me to round out my photographs with my own words, and the opportunity to use the book structure, materials or concept to tell a bigger, more compelling story. 

Collections

Museum of Modern Art, New York
The Smithsonian Library
San Francisco 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, Texas
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
Cerritos 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

2023

  • C O N T E N T 2023; Artist Book Exhibit, The Artery Gallery, Davis, CA
  • FREEDOM Project, invitational exhibition, Fundacja Correspondance Des Arts, Łódź, Poland
  • Westward Bound, American Academy of Bookbinding, Curated by Alicia Bailey, Telluride, CO
  • Moments of Transformation, The Morgan Conservatory Art of Papermaking 11th Annual Juried Show, Cleveland, OH
  • Shadow and Light, Photography Exhibition, Organized by Beau Beausoleil, Part of Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Philadelphia, PA

2022

  • Shapes of Things to Come, Sherry Grover Gallery at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, WA
  • Changing the Conversation: Artists’ Books, Zines and Broadsides from the Collins Memorial Library Collection, Tacoma, WA
  • The Book as Art v10: Transformation, DeKalb Library, Decatur, GA
  • Pulp, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, CA
  • Flourish, Curated by Alicia Bailey, Crested Butte Center for the Arts Kinder Padon Gallery, CO
  • [ ih-maj-in ], University of Arizona Poetry Center, PaperWorks, Tucson Arizona
  • Wild/LIFE: the Guild of Book Workers Triennial Exhibition, Six Exhibition Venues, through 2022

2021

  • Movable Medley, Abecedarian Artist Books at the Art Students League, Denver, CO
  • Redux, Puget Sound Book Artists, Collins Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
  • Unseen, 23 Sandy, form + concept gallery, Santa Fe, NM
  • The Book as Art v9.0: Muse, Decatur Arts Alliance, Decatur, GA
  • Every Day and Special Days, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Sherry Grover Gallery
  • Art of the Book, Rochester Public Library
  • Wild/LIFE: the Guild of Book Workers Triennial Exhibition, Six Exhibition Venues, 2021-2022
  • The Morgan Conservatory Annual Juried Exhibition, Cleveland, Ohio
  • CONTENT, Juried Exhibition, The Artery, Davis, California **Playful Content Award**
  • Reclamation: Artists Books on the Environment, Juried Exhibition, San Francisco Center for the Book, California
  • Shadow and Light, Photography Exhibition, Curated by Beau Beausoleil, Part of Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here, University of Santa Barbara Library, California

2020

  • Between the Fold, Gallery One, Ellensburg, Washington **Best Traditional Book Award**
  • Rising Together | an Exhibition of Zines, Artists’ Books and Prints with a Social Conscience, College Book Arts Association, University of Puget Sound
  • The Book as Art: The Page and Beyond, Light Art Space, Silver City, New Mexico
  • HeArt of the Book, Artworks, Loveland, Colorado

2019

  • The Book as Art: The Page & Beyond, Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • Rising Together | an Exhibition of Zines, Artists’ Books and Prints with a Social Conscience, College Book Arts Association, University of Iowa and Center for Book Arts in New York
  • Shadow and Light, a photography project honoring assassinated Iraqi academics. An Al-Mutanbbi Street Starts Here project curated by Beau Beausoleil.
  • The Artful Book, Long Beach Museum of Art, Guild of Bookworkers, California Chapter, Long Beach, CA
  • The Book as Art v7.0: Wonders, Decatur Arts Alliance, Decatur, GA
  • An Abecedarian of Artist’s Books, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, WA
  • The Art of the Fold, Abecedarian Gallery at Denver Public LIbrary, Denver, CO
  • Reflections on Accomplishments, Puget Sound Book Artists Members Exhibition, Collins Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA  **People’s Choice Award for Technical Skills and Structure**

2018

  • Click! Photography Festival Photobook Exhibition, Horse and Buggy Press, Durham, NC, **Purchase Prize Award from UNC Sloan Library**
  • Rising Together | an Exhibition of Zines, Artists’ Books and Prints with a Social Conscience, College Book Arts Association, University of Utah
  • Women’s Work, Samek Museum at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA
  • Unrestricted: An Exploration of Artist Books, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, Port Angeles, WA

2017

  • Focus on the Book Arts, Faculty and staff exhibition, Forest Grove, OR
  • Reader’s Art: Control/Alt/Shift, Curated by Susan Hensel and Jeff Rathermel, Cowles Literary Commons, Minnesota Center for Book Art, Minneapolis
  • Northwest Musings, Puget Sound Book Artists, Collins Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
  • Relics & Ruins, 3rd Biennial International Artist Books Exhibition, A6 Gallery, Bend, OR
  • In Remembrance: People, Times, & Places, Curated by Lucy Childs, San Francisco Center for the Book, CA

2016

  • In, On, Of Paper, Paper Circle Center for Paper and Book Arts, Columbus, OH
  • Art of the Book, Rochester Public Library, Rochester, NY
  • Just One Look, invitational exhibition in conjunction with the Women’s Classical Caucus Conference, curated by Lauren Dudley and Sandra Kroupa, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Spring
  • Paper Chase, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Lake Oswego, OR
  • Puget Sound Book Artists Members Exhibition, Tacoma, WA
  • Bridging the Water: Puget Sound Book Artists on display at the Bower Ashton Library. Centre for Fine Print Research, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

2015

  • Unhinged: Book Art on the Cutting Edge, Invitational Book Art Exhibition, Whatcom Museum of Art, Bellingham, Washington
  • About Books, Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery, Pima County Community College, Tucson, Arizona
  • College Book Arts Association 2015 Members Exhibition, Scripps College, Claremont, CA
  • Artists Books from the Baylor Book Arts Collection, Crouch Fine Arts Library, Baylor University, Waco, TX

2014

  • Stories That Women Tell, Pacific University Cawein Gallery, Forest Grove, OR
  • Design Book Art 2, University of California, Berkeley, Environmental Design Library
  • RiTUAL, 110 CHURCH Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
  • College Book Arts Association Members’ Exhibition, Present(ation) Public(ation) Install(ation), J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
  • Puget Sound Book Artists Members Exhibition, Tacoma, WA **Collins Library Award**

2013

  • Under the Wings of Artemis: Scholars, Artists and the Places Between, University of Washington Special Collections Library. Curated by Lauren Dudley, Seattle, WA
  • An Inventory of al-Mutanabbi Street, The John Rylands Library, Manchester, UK (Project travels through 2016)
  • Photo Book Works, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO
  • The Art of the Book, Ridderhof Martin Gallery, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA

2012

  • DIY: Photographers & Books, Cleveland Museum of Art, OH
  • Puget Sound Book Artists Members Exhibition, Tacoma, WA
  • Interplay: Photographers Focus on the Book, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR
  • 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, contact her to schedule a talk to your group. See a list of current talks here.

  • Panelist, Artists’ Books as Agents of Social Change, Race & Pedagogy National Conference, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, 2014
  • 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

  • The Art of Papercraft by Helen Hiebert, Storey Publishing, 2022
  • 1000 Artist Books, Quarry Books, 2012
  • 500 Handmade Books, Lark Books, 2008
  • 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

  • College Book Art Association, Member
  • Guild of Bookworkers, Member
  • Portland Art Dealers Association, Past Vice President
  • Photolucida, Portland, Oregon, Past Board Member
  • Art Source Portland, Co-Publisher, Board Member
  • Colorado Chapter Women’s Caucus for Art, Past President

Education & Professional

  • B.B.A., Northwood University, Midland, Michigan
  • 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, Oregon, Founder, Owner/Director, 2007-2020