Laura, born in Los Angeles California in 1955, moved at age 10 with her mother to Belém do Para, a Brazilian colonial city at the nexus of the Amazon basin and the Atlantic ocean.
Coming of age in this aquatic labyrinth, laced network of rivers and motion, she adopted ink and watercolor as her expression of choice. In her 20’s, as she studied yoga and contemporary dance, she started processing a sense of time, space, and internal proprioception. Her work moved towards the exploration of the elements of those landscapes – the strong but soft movement of water; the intricacy of a single leaf; the textures of a tree trunk. Eventually, only lines and space remained.
Coming of age in this aquatic labyrinth, laced network of rivers and motion, she adopted ink and watercolor as her expression of choice. In her 20’s, as she studied yoga and contemporary dance, she started processing a sense of time, space, and internal proprioception. Her work moved towards the exploration of the elements of those landscapes – the strong but soft movement of water; the intricacy of a single leaf; the textures of a tree trunk. Eventually, only lines and space remained.
In 1985 Laura left Belém for California and then Alaska. The 2-year journey led her again to an appreciation of the elements – simple, internal yet vast. Experiencing winter in Alaska inspired great focus and insight to her work. Her return to Belém in 1987 was marked by productive inquiries into new form and flow in her paintings.
She left Belém again a year later, traveling to Japan to explore textiles, ink brushwork, Zen meditation and shiatsu bodywork, cultivating textural and material space as well as space in the mind + body. A half-year in Munich, Germany allowed her to integrate and practice these Eastern techniques alongside the practices developed in her upbringing in the Western Hemisphere.
She left Belém again a year later, traveling to Japan to explore textiles, ink brushwork, Zen meditation and shiatsu bodywork, cultivating textural and material space as well as space in the mind + body. A half-year in Munich, Germany allowed her to integrate and practice these Eastern techniques alongside the practices developed in her upbringing in the Western Hemisphere.
The 1990’s found Laura back in Belém, where she settled in an old colonial house and continued to develop the broadening mediums of her art, as well
as her love for movement, meditation, and yoga. She participated in art salons, taught teens at the Curio Velho Art Foundation, and started rooting her work in the physical realm, producing site-specific installations using materials like leafs, stones and salvaged wood.Since the 2000’s, Laura has lived and worked in New York City, Brazil, and San Francisco, continuing the pattern of the elements: flowing like water, traveling through space, and reconnecting to the grounded nature of our environment. In the early 2000’s in NYC she established a live/work studio in Chelsea, painting and producing several site-specific installations like Transit Tempo, in collaboration with the Central Park Conservancy to celebrate Earth Day. A circle of 18 massive blocks of ice filled with flowers, pods, leaves and branches melted over the course of 36 hours at Central Park’s Turtle pond, documented in time-lapse video,
as her love for movement, meditation, and yoga. She participated in art salons, taught teens at the Curio Velho Art Foundation, and started rooting her work in the physical realm, producing site-specific installations using materials like leafs, stones and salvaged wood.Since the 2000’s, Laura has lived and worked in New York City, Brazil, and San Francisco, continuing the pattern of the elements: flowing like water, traveling through space, and reconnecting to the grounded nature of our environment. In the early 2000’s in NYC she established a live/work studio in Chelsea, painting and producing several site-specific installations like Transit Tempo, in collaboration with the Central Park Conservancy to celebrate Earth Day. A circle of 18 massive blocks of ice filled with flowers, pods, leaves and branches melted over the course of 36 hours at Central Park’s Turtle pond, documented in time-lapse video,
Clip - transit tempo, installation and video 2001 NYC
Caxiuanã is the only protected ecological reserve of the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, 220 miles from Belém. , Because of its immense water source, and diverse vegetation, its first scientific observation was written in 1860, but was only declared a national reserve in 1961.
The Caxiuanã River is quietly formed by abundant springs, creating a still body of water that flows smoothly into the Amazon River.
The constant flow of the River meeting the sea, and the sun rising and setting at the same time every day, gives you a timeless sense of present continuous.
The Caxiuanã River is quietly formed by abundant springs, creating a still body of water that flows smoothly into the Amazon River.
The constant flow of the River meeting the sea, and the sun rising and setting at the same time every day, gives you a timeless sense of present continuous.
"The ebb and flow of the water and the lush vegetation, is a moving source within me"
jddGhh to store to see more artwork
Clip of The Source video installation & book, for a 3 screen simultaneous video projection
Resting Trees, 2013, an ephemeral installation at Swindler Cove in New York City, used fallen trees from hurricane Sandy to create impermanent gathering points for the citizens of the
city to rest, think, and play until they were reabsorbed by nature.
city to rest, think, and play until they were reabsorbed by nature.
Her work has continued to deepen into inquiries of the elements, their nature and tendencies, through work with textiles, alternating brushwork and wax, pigmentation, dyes, and fluid acrylics.
In 2014, Laura created a series of the Elements in ink and dye on silk over canvas.
Her focus now is on Botanical printing searching to reveal our interconnectedness with the natural world. She divides her time between NYC, Sunrise Lake PA. and Brazil.
In 2014, Laura created a series of the Elements in ink and dye on silk over canvas.
Her focus now is on Botanical printing searching to reveal our interconnectedness with the natural world. She divides her time between NYC, Sunrise Lake PA. and Brazil.
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Selected Solo Exhibitions 2020 Residency and installation at the Emílio Goeldi Belém, Brazil 2015 The Berkshire Bank NY 2014 Inwood studio 44 NY 2008 New Paintings, Studio 304, NY 2007 Paintings & Photography, Studio 304, NY 2006 A Rede, installation, IAPE, Belém, Brazil 2005 The Source, video/photography, Studio 304, NY 2004 Two Million Wishes, video documentary, shown in festivals in Brasil/USA/Europe 2003-06 Árvores Dos Pedidos, interactive installation, Belém, Brazil 2003 Looking For A Quiet Place, paintings/wood installation, Studio 304, NY 2002 Wishing Tree, interactive installation, Central Park East Meadow, NY 2002 Tempo, photography/video, Galeria Imaginário, Belém, Brazil 2001 Transit Tempo, video/Installation, Central Park, NY 1999 Paintings, Havelli Gallery, Miami 1999 Findings, wood installation, Salvarey Gallery, Miami 1996 Labirintos, wood installation, Galeria Theodoro Braga, Belém, Brazil 1996 A Luz Do Olhar, video installation, Galeria Theodoro Braga, Belém, Brazil 1996 Raum, Rhythmus und Farbe, paintings, Baden Weikershein, Germany 1995 A Luz Do Olhar, video installation, Galeria Theodoro Braga, Belém, Brazil 1993 Tranas, paintings, Galeria Theodoro Braga, Belém, Brazil 1991 Espirais, stone and iron installation, CCBEU, Belém, Brazil 1990 10 Anos Depois, paintings, Espaço de Arte Hilton, Belém, Brazil 1980 Paintings, Galeria Um, Belém, Brazil 1979 Paintings, Galeria Ângelus, Belém, Brazil Selected Group Exhibitions 2014 Noma Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, NY 2013 Installation Resting trees Swindler's Cove, NYC 2009 ART IN ACTION, Soma art, SF 2008 The Rope, video installation, Corpus Kinetics, CUCHIFRITOS Gallery, NY 2006/07 The Rope, video, MISC Video & Performance, New York Studio Gallery, NY 2006 The Source, video/book, Water, Giola Gallery, Chicago 2001 Transit Tempo, video, Art + Performance by Women, Sideshow, NY 1998 Orquídeas, paintings, Galeria Astrolábio, Belém, Brazil 1998 Espiral, installation, Abraçando Amazônia, Bosque, Belém, Brazil 1994/95/96 Tranas, paintings, Exposição Coletiva, Arte Assinada, Belém, Brazil 1996 XV Arte Para, wood installation, Galeria Rômulo Maiorana, Belém, Brazil 1992 Itinerante Nordeste, works on paper, CCBEU traveling exhibition, Brazil 1992 Opus Brasileiro, bamboo installation, Salão de Arte Contemporânea, Belém, Brazil 1990 Onde As Onça Bebe Água, paintings, Museu da UFPA, Belém, Brazil 1990 Chuva, aluminum installation, Galeria Rômulo Maiorana, Belém, Brazil 1990 Salão Arte Para, paintings, Galeria Rômulo Maiorana, Belém, Brazil 1987 Kenai Arts, paintings, Kenai, Alaska 1987 Winter Show, paintings, Anchorage, Alaska 1985 Salão Arte Para, paintings, Galeria Rômulo Maiorana, Belém, Brazil 1982 Coletiva, paintings, Galeria Theodoro Braga, Belém, Brazil 1981 Coletiva, paintings, Galeria Um, Belém, Brazil |
Collections Museu da Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil Galeria Theodoro Braga, CENTUR, Belém, Brazil Coleção de Arte Lutifalla Bittar, Estacon, Belém, Brazil CCBEU – Brazil-United States Cultural Center, Belém, Brazil Grants, Honors and Awards 1996 Honorable Mention, XV Arte Pará, Curator Paulo Herkenhoff, Belém, Brazil 1987 First Prize, Winter Show, Anchorage, Alaska 1980 First Prize, Paintings On Textiles, Santa Cruz, California Selected Publications 2002 Martins, Cláudio, Review, O Liberal, “O tempo em transito,” January - 7 1996 Wolfgang, Thomas, Review, Tauber - Zeitung, “Raum, Rhythmus und Farbe,” July - 30 1993 Hamilton, Braga, Review, Diário do Para , “As travessias de Laura Calhoun,” October - 2 1993 La Roque, Cláudio, Article, O Liberal, “Os incríveis labirintos cromáticos,” September - 2 1992 Hamilton, Braga, Editorial de Cultura, Diário do Para, “ A luz do líquido,” October - 1 1991 Maués, Marton, Review, O Liberal, “Uma artista e seu momento,” December - 12 
space and air elements silk over canvas 2011 |