INFO CENTER
RECENT UPDATES
Local Artist, Lauren Bartone
I can never get enough of gorgeous Marin landscapes, captured by talented local painters. Each year, I purchase a half dozen sets of the MALT Ranches and Rolling Hills note cards, to give as gifts for anyone who's not so fortunate to live in these parts. Yet, lately, I find I'm also strangely drawn to the mundane, or more so, the beauty of the seemingly mundane. Rusted out factories, harsh afternoon lighting, street signs blocking otherwise serene vistas. I'm curious about things that bump up against one another.
So I was intrigued recently, as I perused artists' websites, deciding whom to visit, during Marin Open Studios. On artist, Lauren Bartone's blog, I saw an image of a field, not quite fallow, not quite fecund, tractors chugging in the distance. I clicked through to other samples of her work - birds' eye views of cityscapes adjacent to farm land, migrant workers gathering, to begin a days work. Something compelled me to these pieces, so I went to visit the artist, to find out why.
A mother, wife, San Rafael native and art instructor, Lauren studied art at UCLA, UC Berekely, and in Florence, Italy at the Loreonzo Di'Medici School of Art. The day I meet her, she's in a quiet family house. Two children are at school and her husband is off at work. It's a rare moment of down time for the busy artist. Given our short allotted time together, we cut to the chase, touring her house, studio, and the artwork on the walls. While painting is her primary interest, lately Lauren has been integrating digital photography and screen-printing into her work. I'm not an art historian or critic, so I won't try to disect her work. You can explore it yourself on her website.
I can however, shed light on the important ideas behind Lauren's art. At the moment, Lauren's interested in creating scenes that balance social and historical content. Scenes that make people question constructs, ideas, and events they might not otherwise contemplate too deeply - such as national borders, conventional farming methods, and the movement of immigrant workers into tawny Marin neighborhoods each morning...and back out again, at night. Lauren informs me of the May 1st protests of the ICE Raids, where Marin police sweep through neighborhoods heavily populated by immigrants, such as the Canal District, looking for illegal residents. Most Marin residents never make it into the Canal district, and are unaware of the difficulties immigrants can face, when trying to establish themselves in the United States.
We discuss community, and hidden communities in Marin, such as Marin City, where Lauren tells me, a marvelous Flea Market used to draw people. Now, it's been paved over for cars to park and shop at Best Buy and Starbucks. We question, where young, more controversial artists might find a place to connect and promote their work and ideas, in Marin. The open studios, sponsored by the Marin Arts Council, offer an amazing opporunity to discover Marin Artists. As well, several art walks and fairs do take place in Marin towns each year. Several other artists I spoke to, while making rounds at Open Studios agreed, there's room for more community building among young artists in Marin.
So, let it start here. If you want to get more connected to the art community in Marin, contact us at theMarinGuide. In the meantime, check out Lauren's work at the Marin Arts Salon, taking place the remaining Thursday evenings in May.
Lauren's work, and others', will be on display May 29th, from 6-9pm at:
California Closets Showroom: 610 DuBois Street, San Rafael.