In Good Company with Lauren Florence

By Emily L. Newman

Left: Lauren Florence, In Good Company III, 2021, acrylic, 36” x 36”, courtesy of the artist. Right: Lauren Florence, Birdie, 2020, acrylic, 48” x 48”, courtesy of the artist

As we are all coping and handling the pandemic in the best ways that we can, most of us recognize that connections of all types have become that much more important to us. For those of us that went months without seeing and hugging family, we can now appreciate even more a sense of togetherness. In many ways, experiencing and communing with Lauren Florence’s work can create a similar sense of familiarity.

In Good Company, being presented at the Price Tower Arts Center from August 28 – November 7, features a number of paintings exploring people, animals, relationships, and identity. Often based on vintage photographs, Florence originally used family and friends’ photos, but also referred to images that were on display in the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

In her interpretation and manipulation of these older photographs, Florence works to create paintings that recall memories and relatable histories. Speaking of these works, she has noted, “I’m looking for narrative and joy, primarily…. Sometimes the narrative in a photo is clear, but not always. When the narrative is vague, I enjoy combining other elements to push the narrative into a bigger story.” It’s no surprise then to see cowboys and cowgirls in these paintings in this part of the country, as they seem to inform every Oklahoman’s identity in some way or another.

Undoubtedly, and at this very moment, there is comfort in that kind of nostalgia. These images are not meant to shock, rather, Florence repeatedly asserts that she wants the viewers to find joy in these works. The colors are bold and bright, often fun and unexpected, not the colors of real life. Orange and green skies, purple cows, and pastel colored cowboy hats proliferate. While there are not any smiles, there also does not seem to be any pain or heartache. The paintings embody a sense of being in a moment, frozen in time – much like photographs. But in their color and brushstrokes, these works of art assert their painting-ness.

Like the 18th Century Japanese masters of Ukiyo-E print techniques whose work was adapted in the Western world by Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt, flatness, pattern, and decoration all unite to create an image that pushes everything to the surface with an array of color and style. These influences are only enhanced by Florence’s own schooling as she received a degree in textile design from the University of Kansas. The composition and design of textiles recalls this 18th and 19th century work, while also bridging to the obviously named Pattern and Decoration Movement of the 1970s (currently experiencing a much-needed revival right now through pivotal retrospective exhibitions in the past few years in New York, Los Angeles, and Vienna among other places).

These ideas all come together in her work, as seen in A Day at the Races. In the foreground stands a woman wearing a white cloche hat and a boldly patterned coat. Hitting at mid-calf, the coat has white squares surrounded by two shades of red, with what appears to be a fur collar and a large flower pinned to her lapel. The woman holds a red/orange coordinated handbag as she smiles and poses for the camera. Behind her, three jockeys sit atop their horses as if lined up before or after a race. But unlike the woman who has at least a pink tone to her skin, the jockeys and horses are a mass of color–

Left: Lauren Florence, A Day at the Races, 2019, acrylic, 24” x 24”, courtesy of the artist Right: Lauren Florence, Caretaker II, 2021, acrylic, 24” x 24”, courtesy of the artist

mainly orange. There is no linework or shift in tone to distinguish where the humans end and where the horses begin. On top of the orange, red lines cross, splatters of green appear and mauve squares all feel haphazardly placed. The third background layer is dusty rose checkered with white diamonds covered with simple lines, which appear to almost have been cut into the paint.

While Florence creates these layers in her painting, they don’t have the full depth and intensity that one might expect. This is the flattening mentioned earlier, where she collapses the space into one, while not fully allowing for a realization of three dimensionality. The woman at the front does not have the full roundness of shoulders and body shape, the jockeys and horses merge, and the background is not a fully realized race track or barn, rather it is a simple harlequin pattern, recalling the design that often accompanied jockey’s uniforms.

This particular image is a good example of how Florence imbues her work with narratives, as she explains, “I have a tiny photo of a woman standing all by herself in front of a hedge in her beautiful coat, hat, and giant mum. Someone must have said, ‘You look so pretty! Go stand over there and let me take your picture.’ But why was she all dressed up? Where was she going? The narrative is lost. So, for the painting, I added the horses with jockeys behind her, imagining her destination.” Thus, she creates a story, yet one that still provides room for interpretation and imagination as well as interplay with flatness and dimensionality.

As many of us slowly leave our homes and caves where we have hidden from COVID-19, Lauren Florence has created paintings that allow her viewers to relate to them, have a sense of nostalgia, and use colors in a way to brighten faded vintage photographs. These paintings could be those of our family, our animals, and our homes. At a time where society is trying to figure out how to approach the next decade and how we must choose to live in a world grappling with a pandemic, race and social justice issues, rising poverty, among other concerns, Florence works provide a needed escapism. She encourages us to remove ourselves from our everyday struggle and to reconnect with an idealized, colorful past. In Good Company, work by Lauren Florence, is up from August 28 – November 7 at the Price Tower Arts Center (510 Dewey Avenue, Bartlesville, OK 74003, Ph. 918-336-4949). The Price Tower Exhibit Gallery is open every day from 8am-8pm. For more information, visit pricetower.org. For more on Florence, including contact and buying information, visit laurenflorence.com. n

Emily L. Newman is presently Associate Professor of Art History at Texas A&M UniversityCommerce, specializing in contemporary art, gender studies, and popular culture. Feminist Fashion and Art in United States Protests and Politics, her current book project, explores how art and fashion have been used by feminists to shape and argue for the political beliefs. Her latest books include The Female Body Image in Contemporary Art: Fatness, Dieting, SelfHarm, and Eating Disorders (Routledge, 2018 and 2020) and The Food Network Recipe: Essays on Essays on Cooking, Celebrity and Competition (McFarland Publishing, 2021).