Artist Statement

How do our bodies influence our minds? How does our corporeal wisdom influence our perception of the world? Investigating these questions through the process of coiling, casting, and reassembling, I mirror the act of adaption and play, letting my intuition shape the work and transcend rational thought.

My artistic inquiry is deeply rooted in the science of interoception - the perception of sensations from inside the body. I am fascinated by how our internal physical states influence our emotional experiences and, consequently, our interpretation of the world around us.

My materials are a combination of clay, glycerin, found objects and thread, which serve as metaphors for the various components of our bodily systems. The forms I create have a unique interdependence, much like the complex systems within our own bodies.

Through my work, I aim to challenge the notion of mind-body dualism, instead proposing a more integrated understanding of human experience. By bringing the unconscious bodily processes into the realm of conscious appreciation, I hope to foster a deeper connection between viewers and their own corporeal wisdom.

Laura Van Duren RESUME

www.lauravanduren.com

email: laura@lauravanduren.com

Selected Exhibitions

2025

Making Moves: A Collection of Feminism, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA

2024

A Question of Balance, Pacific Rim Sculptors, Museum of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, CA

Solo Show, Revelers, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA

2023

Pyramid Scheme, Bass & Reiner Gallery, San Francisco, Ca.

Afterimage, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, Ca. Juror-Walter Maciel

Morphologies, Your Mood Gallery, San Francisco, Ca. Curator- Selby Sohn

2022

Cedar Street Gallery, Berkeley, Ca

Solo Exhibition, Gut Feeling , Transmission Gallery SF, San Francisco, CA

“did you make this, how long did it take?” Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA

In Tension, Incline Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Tap Roots: Art Educators of Northern California, Arts Benicia, Benicia, CA

2021

Constructed Ceramics, Applied Contemporary Gallery, Oakland, CA

XX@XV: 15th Anniversary, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland , CA

2020

Solo Exhibition, Drawn to Resilience, City College of San Francisco Art Gallery

Some Speachless Thing, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA Juror- Griff Williams

2019

Matter of Form, Shoh Gallery, Berkeley, CA, Curator- Christine Koppes

Art + Movement, GearBox Gallery, Oakland, CA, Curator- Maria Porges

2018

The Open Book Show V, Root Division, San Francisco, CA, Curator- Kate Laster

The Magic of Collaboration, Adobe Art Gallery, Castro Valley, CA, Curator- Leah Virsik

Room for Thought, Space 151, San Francisco, CA, Juried by Jack Fischer

2017

AbstrAction, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA, Juried by Catherine Clark

Thesis Exhibition, San Francisco State University Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2016

Celebrating 40 Years, An Exhibition from Peter Voulkos’ The Dome, Oakland, CA

2015

Stillwell, San Francisco State University Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2014

Sky, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA, Curated by DeWitt Cheng

2011

Transits and Returns: Alumni Show, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA

2010

Solo Exhibition, Not for Sale, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA

Twisted-Chiseled-Fired, Village Art Gallery, Danville, CA, Panel Discussion

2009

Solo Exhibition, Blue Sky, McCue Gallery 83, Orinda, CA

Las Cadre: Craft Masters, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA

Solo Exhibition, Confluence, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA

Meet the Ironkids, Studio Quercus, Oakland, CA

2008

Pequenitos: A Las Cadre Exhibition, Ruby's Clay Studio, San Francisco, CA

Solo Exhibition, The Dress Form Dialogues, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA,

2007

All Fired Up, City of Santa Clara Sculpture Exhibition, Santa Clara City Hall, CA

Sculpture in the Garden, Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA

Two-Person Exhibition, Two Worlds, Mercury 20 Gallery, Oakland, CA,

2006

Mercury Rising, Tomlinson Gallery, Oakland, CA

100% Centennial: CFA Alumni Exhibition, Regina Gouger Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

2006

Mischief, Cartoons, Characters & Critters, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2004

Speaking Figuratively, South Western College Art Gallery, Chula Vista, CA

2003

Two-Person Exhibition, Two Ways, Green Shutter Gallery, Hayward, CA

17th Annual Ceramic Sculpture Exhibition, UVSC Woodbury Gallery, Orem, UT

2002

30 Ceramic Sculptors, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA

Biography

SF/Arts Monthly, Gallery Highlights, Article by Mark Taylor, September/October Issue

East Bay Express, “Ragged Wing Comes Home to Nest”, January,14, 2015, Sarah Burke

East Bay Express, “Going the Distance at Swarm, Royal Nonesuch, and Mercury 20”, May 18, 2011, Dewitt Cheng

Contra Costa Times, “Laura Van Duren Creates Art to Share”, September 15, 2010, Andrea Firth

Education

2017 MFA, Sculpture, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA

1981 BFA, Studio Art, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA