Lauren Kussro
Associate Professor of Art and Design,
College of Human Sciences and Humanities
Contact number: 281-283-3373
Email: kussro@uhcl.edu
Office: Arbor 1307.18
Biography
Kussro attended the Herron School of Art & Design in Indianapolis for her undergraduate
studies, earning a BFA in painting and printmaking in 2003. In 2006, she completed
her MFA degree in printmaking at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Kussro's work has been shown in various locations around the country, including solo
exhibitions at the Nashville International Airport, Twist Gallery, and Vanderbilt
University in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as group exhibitions at Kai Lin Art in
Atlanta, the Dadian Gallery in Washington D.C., and the Manhattan Graphics Center
in New York. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions in both India and
China. Her creative process is centered in a playful investigation of the natural
world and frequently features combinations of printmaking, sculpture and sewing.
Areas of Expertise
- Printmaking
- Lithography
- Etching
- Silkscreen
- Relief
- Monotype
- Drawing & Painting
Courses (Current Academic Year)
Beginning Printmaking
Advanced Printmaking
Drawing Foundations
Research Projects
I'm an explorer. Navigating terrain and documenting botanical and geological matter,
I'm looking for clues, details that get missed or forgotten. I hold them up to see
what they point to and what they convey.
From the micro to the macro, the natural world provides me with a variety of environments
and organisms to investigate and study, and I find perpetual inspiration in seeing
how everything is connected and how it works. Systems existing in clusters or groups
hold particular interest for me because of the way individual bodies come together
to build a larger whole. I use references like densely textured coral reefs or interlocking
cellular structures as a springboard, a place to start creating my own forms--which
are playful but complex.
Through my chosen media of printmaking, sewing and sculpture, I create richly detailed
and often textured surfaces that feature jewel-like colors, building in each piece
a visual investment of time and reflecting the authenticity of nature.
Awards and Accomplishments
2015 Purchase Award - International Mini Print Exhibition, Manhattan Graphics Center, New York, NY
2012-2103 Artist-in Residence - Juried studio residency, Stutz Artists Association, Indianapolis, IN
2008 Artist-in-Residence - Juried residency, Anchor Graphics, Chicago, IL
2007 Best in Show - Art Source, Phoenix Gallery, Knoxville, TN
2007 Merit Award - Alumni Show, Herron School of Art & Design, Indianapolis, IN
1999 and 2002 The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant - Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, Montreal, Canada