Laura Phelps Rogers

Artist Statement
As a contemporary multimedia artist, I explore art making through sculpture, mixed media, large format photography, LED light-based works, installation, ephemeral and performance. Both two and three-dimensional work frequently is relational to historic roles of women and the past, agriculture, nature, environmental topics, disappearing open space and urban conflict. My work has historically been dominated by metal casting. Through this medium I tease out fragility and contrast it with the durability of the metal. Site specificity together with digital photography plays a critical role in my creative process. Metal casting, the technical process of substitution and process-based photography led to cultivating familiarities with a narrative approach. The backbone of my conceptual process developed from that narrative approach into visual dynamics allowing me to layer personal, or somewhat autobiographical memories. Utilizing both a historic and contemporary viewpoint, I developed a contemporary multi-generational interpretative process which incorporates broad cultural memories driven by popular culture, branding and cultural expectations with a critical look at tasks and outcomes. I allow that nostalgia to bloom into familiarities and blend together with humorous and playful aspects of life while addressing some of the more serious outcomes of life. Diversity of topics led me to integrate social and cultural constructs to build and reveal connections and layers to develop those narratives and familiarities. I frequently incorporate social memory and documentation of disappearing aspects of life while expanding ideas and concepts to include larger topics relating to changing cultural and physical landscapes as well as gender shifts. Utilizing natural materials to highlight and express shifts is an important part of my multidisciplinary practice. Growing and utilizing regional foodstuffs, to grass sculptures and crop art are all means of expression that led to a significant portion of my work focusing on ephemeral materials. Investigating where women started and where they are now as part of western civilization and documenting those changes, within a 200-year window, has been a primary focus. Continually experimenting and researching memory-based approaches thru a contemporary visual dialogue, my practice addresses and references expectations pertaining to historic interpretations of women’s work into visual dialogues. Pursuing investigations documenting time, place, emotion, reaction, roles, expectations, modernization, labor and change, I find myself continually deciphering my work and practice through self-identification frequently finding connections to the west and womanhood within that context. Conceptual notions of the current feminist era paralleling needs of underrepresented marginalized social sectors has become an element of my comparative process to develop new work, social engagement projects and the critical examinations required to perpetuate the driving forces within my work.
My agricultural roots have served to provide material for my work. While large scale environments, public work and large-scale photography remain my current focus. Disappearing open space is highlighted and portrayed thru my inherent interest in the western landscape and how historically it has been portrayed through a romanticized lens. The contrasts between rural and urban set a stage for current work. The engagement of viewers, connecting the community and providing cross cultural experiences through large scale social engagement projects, narratives and site-specific work all continue to be a driving force within my practice – current social engagement projects include The Art In The Everyday Community Quilt Project and American Fabric.
As my practice has grown, so has the scale of my work. Gallery work continues to be studies or maquettes for those larger works. Playing with scale and contrasting the impermanent with the permanent or the monumental with the human scale.
My visual practice utilizes a team to facilitate projects from civil engineering to the seamless integration of ideas and concepts with structural and durability concerns addressed. This team approach allows the opportunity to pursue public and large-scale private work through a cost-effective means to fabrication, installation, material choices and in-house scale conversions as part of the creative process.
I always feel extremely fortunate to have had clarity of purpose and plethora of subject matter to make art from.

Biography
Laura received her degree in Sculpture in Colorado, at the University of Colorado Denver. A master’s degree from MICA in Baltimore. Completing residencies in Nepal, through Hawaii Craftsman and a post graduate Curatorial Residency at Otis College in L.A.  Working from her Studio/Gallery in the Upper Larimer District of RINO in Denver, Colorado 3240design LLC and fooLPRoof contemporary art gallery. She bases her multidisciplinary contemporary art practice in Colorado. Her large social engagement The Art In The Everyday Community Quilt Project just returned from Baltimore starting in Hawaii and will continue to travel the Mainland and Hawaii over the next 6 years. Laura exhibits throughout the United States and Internationally. She has had over 18 solo exhibitions.  Her work has been included at the Denver Art Museum and is a part of numerous collections. She has featured public work on display on the Anschutz Medical Campus and recently completed a unique indoor public work for Lamar Station Crossing. The Talsi Regional Museum in Latvia recently acquired one of her sculptures. Cited in the Resource for Transdisciplinary Practice 2015 from the University of Northern Colorado Art In The Everyday conference “ as an artist who uses recontextualization” – Laura has presented at several professional conferences pertaining to her visual practice, the Changing West and Narrative Identity in visual practice. Laura produced a 250 crop artwork that was included collaboratively in the Vancouver Biennial. Recent Art In Public Places includes the Colorado State Capitol, Republic Plaza, The Loveland Library and the Volcano Art Center. She has been a member of the Artnauts since 2019. Westword art news online and print paper have featured Laura on numerous occasions including her as a Colorado Creative and featuring her at Artopia 2016. Laura’s travels casting, learning & exhibiting has allowed her to develop many artist, gallery, representation and membership connections.