About

Biography

Laurie Berenhaus (b. 1988) is an interdisciplinary artist, whose practice involves print, sculpture, animation, and puppetry. Pulling from memory, myth, and the absurd, Berenhaus' work seeks to explore themes around a body in flux. Berenhaus’ sculptures and animations have been exhibited internationally at film festivals, museums, and art galleries, at venues including The Museum of the Moving Image (NYC), The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Canada), the historic Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, Plaxall Gallery (NYC), and Dixon Place (NYC). Her work has been covered by The Creators Project and The Washington Post. She has a BFA in Sculpture from The University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA) and is currently pursuing an MFA from SUNY Purchase.

Artist’s Statement: Studies for Fluctuate/ Decomposing Composers

I began 3D scanning my body, in response to varied health challenges causing my weight to fluctuate dramatically between 2018-2019. The process of altering images through alternative photographic techniques and intuitive play was both cathartic and frightening. “Decomposing Composers,” a series of digital collages deconstructing past selves, became a byproduct of exploration and above all, a necessary purge to aid in regaining autonomy.

In “Studies for Fluctuate” I employ mechanical optical toys, such as the phenakistoscope and praxinoscope, simple movie magic devices containing a sequential ring of images. I was enchanted by the multiple lives the object offers and the chance for viewers to actively participate through kinetic action.

Historically, I am indebted to and inspired by works such as Alexander Calder’s Circus, William Kentridge’s charcoal drawings, and Kara Walker’s silhouettes, all of which reference global traditions of breathing life into inanimate objects. I remix traditional techniques with emerging digital technology, using the body as moderator. The ambiguous feminine creatures depicted in my images and objects are continuously wandering, exploring notions of reproduction and the woman’s emotional, physical, and mental relationship to her body. Their acrobatic gestures and distorted proportions are manifestations of a figure in flux and elicit both humorous and uncanny positions. By analyzing the human form and mental condition and how they move through space, I search for the tipping point when sentient beings are forced to confront ourselves and recalibrate to survive. This creates a point of exploration into the ebb and flow of expansion and contraction, convergence and divergence.

The artist’s work is available on Artsy

All images © Laurie Berenhaus