Artist Lauren Woods is exhibiting her show, Dream State, at the Switzer gallery from August 16th until December 10th, 2021.
On August 26th, an artist lecture and a dual reception were held in the Anna Lamar Switzer Center alongside the PSC Art Faculty exhibit.
Dream State is Woods’ sixth solo show and showcased paintings that show the concept of mythic time and how it can be fabricated and view reality through mutable narratives.
“Mythic time is broadly defined as a perpetual present outside of the linear perception of time, an abstract awareness where everything is eternally happening all at once, “ said Woods.
The work shown spans from ten years. The show is broken down into three parts and became a play, with the work being theatrical.
During her artist lecture, she discussed some of the specific imagery and themes present in her show.
“The reclining masculine nude seen through the feminine gaze and experience; woman as an archetypal hunter in control of her destiny and the world around her,” said Woods.
“The envisioned environments inspired by the atmosphere of theater where nature and magic coexist.”
Woods invites the viewer to project their own experiences and symbolisms while walking through this exhibit.
This creates a conversation between the paintings and the viewer.
Gallery Coordinator Jason Pinckard was a part of the assembly of this show and had a short time frame of two days.
“I felt like it was my job to look at this space, think about the themes she has, which were about four to five different themes, and boil that down to an exhibition that looks good in our space,” said Pinckard. “From her initial list,we cut probably more than half of it because, at a certain point, you want to have the work to look really good but not be too much.”
“You want it to be absorbable, and people have enough to look at but, at the same time, you don’t want it to fall apart in a conceptual sense or overwhelm the visitor.”
After her lecture, the audience was able to ask questions to learn more about the show.
One audience member asked Woods how she decides on a color palette because Woods starts of monochromatic, then by the end, she has pops of color within her paintings.
“It comes from trial and error. “I started to remember things that work and what kind of atmosphere works,” said Woods.
“I think about the lighting coming through the layers.”
Another audience member asked how do you stay motivated with your work.
“Highly respect artist moms,” said Woods.
“Things that I experience, I translate it through an image somehow.”
During a response, she told art students and instructors not to skip on the early stages because it’s the building block of the whole piece.
“If you aren’t patient with the first part, you’re going to mess yourself up for the whole thing.”
She earned an MFA degree in Painting from the New York Academy of Art in 2010 after earning a BA degree in Studio Art with honors from the Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, in 2006.
Currently, Woods is the Assistant Professor of Art and teaches painting and figure drawing at Auburn University.
In addition, she is collaborating with choreographers and musicians to develop immersive art experiences with ballet dancers and her work projecting in the background.
Lauren Woods giving an artist lecture revolving around her exhibit “Dream State” and her artistic process. Audience members listen as she goes into detail about her variety of art. 
