Lauren Mantecón, American abstract painter, was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1964 and grew up moving between the east and west coasts, negotiating the terrain of identity and the place in the middle. She earned her BA in conceptual photography from California State University, Fullerton and her MFA from Portland State University in Oregon.

The Challenge With Reality, mixed media 40 x 36 , 2022

Lauren’s work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions since 1990. Her pieces are featured in museums and galleries throughout the USA and internationally including the Museo de La Isla de Cozumel, Mexico, Fargo Art Museum, Marin Moca (Novato, CA), Mark Woolley Gallery (Portland, OR), Elizabeth Leach Gallery (Portland, OR), Provincetown Art Museum (Provincetown, MA), Chase Young Gallery (Boston, MA), Friesen Gallery (Ketchum, ID), Muse Gallery (Bluffton, SC and Columbus, OH), Gebert Gallery (Scottsdale, AZ), Nuart Gallery (Santa Fe, NM), Imogen Gallery (Astoria, OR), and Trove Gallery (Park City, UT).

She has been the recipient of numerous art residency awards that include Djerassi (Woodside, CA), Sitka Center for Art and Ecology (Otis, OR), Jentel (Banner, WY).

Lauren has been an educator of mixed media approaches to art for over twenty years, having taught at University of Portland, Portland State University, and Santa Fe Community College, NM. She has taught as a workshop instructor on the Alchemy of Mixed Media and Painting, focusing on unconventional techniques to the creative process at Oregon College of Art and Craft (Portland, OR), Sun Valley Center for the Arts (Ketchum, ID), Jackson Hole Center for the Arts (Wyoming), ICB Center (Sausalito, CA), Mendocino Center for the Arts (California), Sitka Center for Art and Technology (Otis, OR), Huiho’olana Arts Center (Molokai, Hawaii), Aha School for the Arts (Telluride, CO), Ghost Ranch (Abiquiu, NM), and Hollyhock Learning Center, (Mansons Landing, BC, Canada). Lauren currently lives and teaches in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Journey

oil on canvas 42x72