Lauren Karjala is a narrative figural and portrait painter based in the seacoast of New Hampshire, working predominately in oil paint. Her work explores themes of human connection, storytelling, intimacy, and the psychology of color. She received a BFA in painting from the University of New Hampshire in 2014. She also spent six years as a consultant at a Boston-based art consulting firm, and three years on the curatorial team for an international private art collection. Lauren has been exhibited widely throughout New England, and her work has been featured in three issues of Vanity Fair UK (2022). She currently maintains her studio in the Salmon Falls Mills in Rollinsford, NH. Lauren is currently accepting commissions, serving clients both nationally and worldwide.
Statement
Lauren Karjala brings a vivid, contemporary palette and expressionist immediacy to narrative figural painting and portraiture. Her current body of work explores memory, nostalgia, and human connection, as well as the power of color as the expression of light to evoke certain feelings. The paintings serve as images of specific memories - fleeting moments in time that are easily overlooked in the fabric of everyday life. Compositional elements and color describe both the subject as a human as well as the specific narrative of the painting.
Through portraiture, Lauren’s goal is that each subject realizes their own presence and importance, both in an individual sense and a universal sense. In this body of work the artist acts not only as an observer, but also as a participant. Moments that arise through one-on-one connection between the artist and the subject create a sense of belonging and community. Her ultimate hope is that the viewer will feel invited into these moments as they relate and connect through their own memories and experiences.
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