Laura Nugent

Changing Bodies 5

Laura Nugent describes her paintings as “colliding blocks of color made orderly overtime.” In her "Small Series", Nugent continues to explore color relationships in softly geometric compositions on new surfaces such as uniquely textured repurposed paper and vintage hardback book covers. After earning her bachelor’s degree in painting from Maryland Institute College of Art, Nugent spent years travelling and exhibiting her art around the country. In 2014, she was awarded the top prize at the Tampa Museum of Art’s Gasparilla Art Fest. She now resides in Kansas City and uses her studio as a gathering place for local artists. Nugent views paintings as both a vocation and a profession. She considers herself as much of a viewer of her work as she is the creator. Her process requires intense scrutiny to achieve a result that satisfies her visually. “Being a painter means inventing a problem on an otherwise pristine canvas,” says Nugent. “My first move—a painted line, geometric shape, or block of color—creates a dilemma that I may or may not be competent enough to tackle.” Variables such as mood, health, age, and time determine how Nugent tackles each “dilemma,” making the final outcome largely unpredictable and precisely human. She considers her work autobiographical because she can tell by looking at a painting what was happening around her when she created it. “My responsibility as an artist is to be observant,” says Nugent. “The work I’m making now is a future memory."