Statement & Bio

Statement:

Lauren Karjala’s recent paintings draw on memory, dream, and symbolism through a growing lexicon of recurring motifs. Each symbol or character acts as a vessel for layered meaning. Rooted in a process that draws from personal experience, observation, tradition, and unconscious association, her work has moved from preserving private moments to navigating shared emotional and cultural terrain.

Influenced by animist thinking, Lauren treats her symbolic subjects as active presences rather than static icons. Her compositions unfold intuitively, becoming a collaboration between internal narratives and external events. The resulting images feel both specific and open to interpretation, inviting viewers to experience their own meaning in the space between the seen and the felt.

Bio:

Lauren Karjala is a figurative painter based in the seacoast community of New Hampshire. She received a BFA in painting from the University of New Hampshire in 2014. Lauren has been exhibited widely throughout New England, and her work has been featured in three issues of Vanity Fair UK (2022) and the I Like Your Work Podcast Catalog (2023), and is held in corporate and private collections. She currently maintains her studio in the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford, NH.

For live work updates, please follow @laurenkarjala on Instagram.