Lauren Pallotta

Stumberg Beach Totems, 2023

Ink, Graphite, Acrylic on Paper, Mounted on Upcycled Wood

34 x 14 inches; framed:

Courtesy of the artist

dkgallery.us

thinkgreatly.com @thinkgreatly

Lauren Pallotta Stumberg (b.1981) is a muralist, painter, sculptor, and arts advocate. Her work honors the human experience through abstracted portraiture and symbolism, where patterns and forms coalesce to create a distinct vernacular. Much of the nuanced motifs in her work derive from experiences living and working abroad over the course of several years in the Marshall Islands and Sicily. In both places, learning the respective culture and language translated into abstract painted narratives. Tattoo patterns in the Marshall Islands have strong underpinnings in her artwork's storytelling; the rich landscapes and word origins in Sicily inspired investigations into new ideas and themes. Since moving to Atlanta in 2012, Stumberg has used her creative offerings to engage with community. She started Think Greatly with a mission to facilitate neighborhood projects as part of her social practice and to curate female-driven collaborations and narratives. Stumberg's work has been awarded grants from Living Walls, Fulton County (GA), the City of Atlanta, and Georgia Council for the Arts; public and private commissions of her work can be found in neighborhoods across metro Atlanta and cities outside the perimeter such as Suwanee, Norcross, and Canton, Georgia. Stumberg is one of two local artists to receive a 2017 Emerging Artist Award from the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. She is a Hambidge Fellow, and represented by dk Gallery in Marietta, GA. "The symbol I use most frequently in my work is an abstracted magpie. This bird is fascinating to me because it is cloaked with superstition. Magpies are described in various folklore and historic literature to be thieves, chatterboxes, gossips, and ominous creatures. In fact, a group of magpies is called a "mischief." Cultural lore also translates one's fortune based on the number of magpies one sees, and to salute the first magpie one sees as a sign of respect and wish for good fortune. It is this perception of the magpie that inspires my work - the bird is an omen of change, and change, good or bad, is invaluable. In this way, the presence of the magpie is a calling to enter a crucible of the spirit. It asks you to rethink social norms, to shift perspectives, to be open to personal transformation