Lauren Rinaldi (b. 1983, Brooklyn, NY) is an American artist living and working in Philadelphia, PA. She studied painting and drawing at Tyler School of Art, where she earned her BFA in 2006. Since then, her solo shows have included Representative (2020); Still Standing (2018); Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters (2015); At Arm’s Length (2014); and An Accidental Masterpiece (2011), all at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia and she has exhibited her work extensively in group shows throughout Philadelphia and the US. In addition to her active studio practice, Lauren is a mother, a yoga teacher, and an activist.

Statement

Lauren Rinaldi makes work that lives in the space where objectification, female power, and empowerment intersect and blur. She uses oil paintings, mixed media drawings and sketches as her vehicles to explore ideas about intimacy, gaze, body-image, sexuality, and self-identity. She looks to the women in her life for inspiration and works to weave their experiences with her own, creating a shared narrative that celebrates women while acknowledging obstacles they often face. While Rinaldi’s portraits are often modeled after her own body, they communicate stories of universal importance in our contemporary moment. Focusing closely on particular regions of the body––legs, heads, torsos––Rinaldi detaches the image from the self-portrait or any particular person, instead offering psychological representations that manifest societal pressures that affect women. Her images provide a mysterious woman and want for narrative, but without conclusion, giving comment on women’s many deemed roles, challenging viewers to move beyond stereotypes and first impressions.

www.laurenrinaldi.com

Instagram: @laurinaldi