Mannerisms presents twelve paintings spanning two distinct series that contemplate the connections between ornament and power. The Disordered Tradition series juxtaposes interior painted decorations from ancient Italian sites with the facades of prominent neoclassical American buildings. The title for this series is derived from an executive order issued by President Trump, Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture, which sought to mandate classical design principles for new federal buildings. The Martha series explores relics of ‘First Ladies’ such as Martha Washington and Martha Jefferson. Through these paintings, references to white womanhood are critically examined alongside the construction and perpetuation of historical memory. Mannerisms opens up the potential for shaping meaning through the reimagination of public symbols of authority and gentility.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lauren Frances Adams is a North Carolina born, Baltimore-based visual artist. Her artworks have been exhibited across the United States at museums, galleries, and artist-run spaces, with recent projects at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. This exhibition at Anchorlight marks 4 years since her last exhibition in North Carolina, held at the Center for the Study of the American South in Chapel Hill. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and has held residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans, La Cité internationale des Arts in Paris, France, and Sacatar Foundation in Bahia, Brazil. She is the recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award and the Trawick Prize. Adams’ research explores political and social histories through iconic images and domestic ornament. Her work is rooted in her experiences growing up on a rural farm and inspired by the need for reckoning with the past in order to understand the present.
