Deb Lawrence was born in the United States and raised in the artsy college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan. As a child, she painted with oil paints, built pots on a potters wheel, etched on metal with acid, silk screened, carved linoleum blocks, learned to weave on large looms, and even tried her hand at marble sculpting.
She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan and Ph.D. from CWRU, followed by private, intensive art study with Gerald Vandevier, professor emeritus of drawing and painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art.
In 2016 she moved from Cleveland to Philadelphia, PA in order to have more land and be closer to NYC. She currently resides in a 1745 farmhouse with a renovated barn for her studio, situated on three acres bordering a nature preserve.
Prior to moving to Philadelphia she lived and worked as an artist in Cleveland, Ohio. For many years she was the artist coordinator for the Tower Press Building, a burgeoning live/work/loft artist community. She worked to empower and elevate the group by establishing a forum for regular artist critique as well as mounting more scholarly, curated exhibitions. She also wrote about contemporary art for the Collective Arts Network CAN Journal by linking her contemporary practice to regional and national exhibitions as well as broader issues of the day.
CV/BIO
Born 1958, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Live and work outside Philadelphia, PA in a 1745 farmhouse and barn
Education:
Mentored by Gerald Vandevier, Professor Emeritus, Cleveland Institute of Art
Ph. D. CWRU, Cleveland, Ohio
BA, University of Michigan
Exhibitions:
2022 Group Exhibition, Pique, September 2022, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2022 Solo Exhibition, Take A Hike, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA, June 25-August 29th.
2021 Group Exhibition, 2021, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2021 Posner Fine Art, Artsy Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Costello Gallery, Group Exhibition, Scottsdale, AZ
2021 Chester Open Studio Exhibition, Chester County, PA
2020 Cause for Environmental Change, Bonfoey Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2019, Solo Exhibition: Shelter, September 12-October 27 Cheryl Hazan Gallery, TriBeCa, NYC
2019, Art On Paper International Art Fair,March 7-March 10, 2019, Armory Week, NYC, Pier 36 Cheryl Hazan Gallery
2019 Solo Exhibition, VOLTA Art Fair, (postponed) during Armory Week, NYC, Pier 90, Cheryl Hazan Gallery
2018 Artists To Watch, Group Exhibition, Bonfoey Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2018 Shape and Water, Group Exhibition, with Matthew Hawtin and Russell Sharon, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC
2018 ICFF NYC Fair, with Udo Noger, Matthew Hawtin, and Hunt Slonem, ICFF Jacob Javits Center, NYC
2018 State Of Mind, Group Exhibition, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC
2018 Art On Paper during Armory Week, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, http://thepaperfair.com/galleries/cheryl-hazan-gallery-art-art-on-paper-ny-2018
2018 INSIDE, Group Exhibition with Udo Noger, Pancho Luna, Sarah Reynolds, Alexa Meyerman and Kazumi Yoshida, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC
2018 During FRONT Triennial: Aspects, Group Exhibition, Bonfoey Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio http://canjournal.org/2018/05/upcoming-exhibitions-at-the-bonfoey-gallery/
2018 CAN Triennial Group Exhibition with Julian and Barbara Stanczak, Laurence Channing, Marilyn Farinacci, Andrea Joki, Amber Kempthorn, Deb Lawrence, Erik Neff, Dana Oldfather, Frank Oriti, and Marc Ross, Bonfoey Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio.
2017 Graphic Identity, Group Exhibition, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC
2017 Summer Group Exhibition, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC
2017 After Dark, Group Exhibition with Dana Oldfather, Frank Oriti, Ashley Sullivan and Amber Kempthorn, Bonfoey Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2017 Opening Scene, Group Exhibition, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, Ga http://www.marciawoodgallery.com
2017 Unstretched, Group Exhibition, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, NYC
2016 Uneven Edges, Solo Exhibition, Cheryl Hazan Gallery, Tribeca, NYC http://hamptonsarthub.com/2017/02/17/artist-profiles-paintings-by-deb-lawrence-when-historic-linen-is-anything-but/
2016 Biennial, Korea Bojagi Forum, Seoul, Korea, Bojagi: Living Tradition, Invited Artist http://www.koreabojagiforum.com
2016 Art Hamptons, Lawrence Fine Art (no relation), NY, June 2016
2016 Art On Paper, Lawrence Fine Art NYC, NY
2015 Art Miami Project, during Art Miami Basel, Lawrence Fine Art, Miami Florida
2015 New Voices, Lawrence Fine Art, East Hampton, NY, www.lawrence-fine-arts.com
2015 Art Southampton, Lawrence Fine Art, Southampton, NY
2015 Art Hamptons, Lawrence Fine Art, Hamptons, NY
2015 The May Show, juried exhibition, curated by Tom Huck and Lauren Davies, Cleveland, OH
2015 Boston Art and Design 20/21 Art Fair, Lawrence Fine Art, Boston, MA
2015 NEO Exhibition, 78th Street Studios, Cleveland, OH
2014 Self-Help, Naji, Naji and Tekler Gallery, 78th Street Studios, Cleveland, Ohio
2014 Get It Together, CWAL, 78th Street Studios, two person exhibition with Justin Brennan, curated by Daniel Neforos
2014 The Steezledorf, curated by Topper Luciani, Paul Longo, and Eoghan Berry, Rox Gallery, NYC, NY
2014 Looking Up, curated by Robert Thurmer, director of The Galleries At CSU, Wooltex Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2014 Transmitting Emotion, curated by Karl Anderson, director of Forum Artspace, 5th Street Arcades, Cleveland, OH
2013 Assembly New York, solo exhibition, Lower East Side, NYC, NY
2013 It’s all In Your Head, Wooltex Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio
2013 Prepare To Be Surprised, group exhibition, Wooltex Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2013 National Juried Mid-Year Exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2013 52 Weeks 52 Works, juried, featured artist, AGC, Cleveland, OH
2012 Invitational Exhibition, Greenwald Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2012 Locally Grown, Juma Gallery, Shaker Heights, OH
2012 Juried Arts Quarter exhibition, curated by Barbara Tannenbaum, curator, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
2012 National Juried Exhibition, Brenda Taylor Gallery, Chelsea, NY
2012 Area Artist Exhibition, Butler Institute Of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2012 52 Weeks 52 Works, juried, featured artist, AGC, Cleveland, OH
2011 See Art, Create Art, curated by Mark Cole, curator, Cleveland Museum of Art, Convivium Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2011 Cleveland Creates, Cleveland Artists Foundation, Cleveland, OH
2011 Fall Exhibition, City Artists At Work, Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH
2011 National Juried Mid-Year Exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
2011 Juried Exhibition, Judy A. Saslow Gallery, Chicago, Ill
2010 Invitational Exhibition, Sylvia Ullman American Craft Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2007 Solo Exhibition, One Woman One Art, Opus Gallery, Woodmere, Ohio