Artist Statement

My name is Lauryn Faye Dove, and I am a painter based in San Diego. As a Black and Guatemalan woman, existing in contradiction drives my art, my present, the lens with which I see the past, and my idealizations for the future. I aim to expand our ideas of inclusivity and community and counter monolithic ideologies. The Central American experience is often underrepresented, which is compounded by my Black Latinx experience. I believe that a colonial legacy haunts our perceptions of ourselves, and through this work that utilizes nuances of my Latinx identity, I hope to broaden notions of Latinx pride, history, and liberated futures. 

In championing the surrealist tradition of spirit of inquiry and its introspective focus, a central motivation of my work is for viewers to see themselves in my work, but also understanding our role as threads in the collective tapestry of human connection and the human experience. In divisive times, disentangling ourselves from individualism and fostering collectivism through the arts is critical to our role as artists. 

I use textiles as a bridge from the viewer to the artwork. By incorporating textiles, often associated with women’s domestic crafts rather than as fine art, a juxtaposition is created as an accessible medium that must also prove its very craftsmanship. Themes of Black and Guatemalan identity, fear, interconnection, legacy, and loneliness are common threads in my portfolio.