Laura Forrester is a mixed media visual artist in Fredericton, NB.
Artist Statement
As an artist, I favour distinct texture and brushstrokes to create images inspired by the everyday beauty around me. I use unconventional tools to achieve the texture and layers in my paintings, sometimes even incorporating fabric, photography, clay and vibrant colors. My work is visually pleasant and unique providing my collectors with work that serves as functional decor as well as a fine art piece.
Ever inspired by history, without the context of tradition, I look to historical artists that I admire to draw inspiration for my own expression, which works to deepen my own connection to history. My work is constantly evolving as I reach new depths of understanding into my own experience and place in my own reflections and my world.
My work often features a strategic use of bold color and brush lines. My subject matter is usually organic, mostly people and plants and painted in a way that shows their ephemeral nature.
Artist CV
Laura Forrester (she/her)
(b.1986, living and working in Fredericton, NB)
Visual Artist
laurforr@gmail.com | www.lauraforresterstudios.ca | 506.260.3326
Education
Interdisciplinary Honours with a Concentration in Visual Arts, St Thomas University, 2022
Grants and Awards
2022 Canada Council for the Art Explore and CreateGrant
Select Exhibitions
2022 October, Marking Movement, Solo Exhibition, The Playhouse, Fredericton
2021 September, City of Fredericton Artist Residencies Exhibition, Charlotte St Arts Centre, Fredericton
2021 May, Reflections and Recollections, Solo Exhibition, Charlotte Glencross Gallery, Fredericton
2021 January, OUT OF THE BLUE, Grassroots Gallery, Group Exhibition, Fredericton
2020 December, Capital Art Sale, Group Show, Fredericton
2020 April, The Yellow Box Gallery, Solo Show, Fredericton*
2019 December, Capital Art Sale, Group show, Fredericton
2019 March, ART IS ARTIST, Group Show, Picaroons, Fredericton
2018 December, Capital Art Sale, Group show, Fredericton
2018 October,SHE, Group show, The Arts Building, Fredericton
2018 May, Capital Art Sale, Group show, Fredericton
2017 December, Capital Art Sale, Group show, Towne Centre, Fredericton
Artist Residencies
2022 November, Bruno Bobak Studio, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton
2022 January, INTERmission Artist Residency, Fredericton Playhouse
2021 August, City of Fredericton, Botanic Gardens Residency
Select Public Art
2021 June-Present, St Thomas University triptych mural collaboration, Commissioned by St Thomas University
2021 December BMO Fredericton Mural, Commissioned by STEPS Public Art and BMO
2021 August, Sugarloaf Park Mural, Commissioned by Government of NB/Explore NB
2021 July, Victory Meat Market, Private Commission mural collaboration, King St Fredericton
2020 August, River Rock/Pharmacy Murals, Private Commission mural collaboration, Medicine Shoppe, King St Fredericton
2020 August, Fredericton’s Radical Outdoors, Commissioned by Flourish Festival, 380 King St, Fredericton
2020 July, Love your Downtown,Collaborative mural commissioned by Downtown Fredericton Inc, SS Tire, Fredericton
2019 June, Fredericton Favorites, Portable Collaborative Murals commissioned by Fredericton Tourism, Fredericton
2018 June, Veg Out Food Truck, Private Commission, Veg Out Food Truck, Fredericton
Select Live Art Events
2022 May, Live Artist, East Coast Music Awards, Fredericton
2019 September, Live Artist, Maritime Kitchen Party, Delta Fredericton
2019 September, Live Artist, Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, Blues Tent, Fredericton
2019 June, Live Artist,PEI Jazz and Blues Festival, Charlottetown
2019 June, Live Artist, Symphony NB Fundraiser, Fredericton
2019 February, Round Winner, Art Battle, Fredericton
2018 September, Live Artist, Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, Blues Tent, Fredericton
2018 September, Live Artist, Vintage in the Village, Gagetown
2018 June, Live Artist, Symphony New Brunswick Fundraiser, Fredericton
2018 March, Live Artist, Maritime Kitchen Party, Boyce Market
2017 September, Live Artist, Maritime Kitchen Party, Delta Fredericton
2017 August, Live Artist, Porter Airlines Launch, Fredericton Airport
2017 May, Live Artist, United Way Timeraiser 150, Fredericton
Employment in the arts
2014-Present, Owner, Laura Forrester Studios
2022: Program facilitator, The Beaverbrook Art Gallery
2020-2021: Art Director, The Grassroots Gallery, Fredericton NB
2020: Program facilitator, The Beaverbrook Art Gallery
2017- Present: Co-founder and co-organizer of Capital Arts Sale
Recent Publications
March, 2021, Changing the Face of Fredericton Public Art, Maritime Edit Magazine
March 2021, CBC Information Morning, Fredericton Mural Controversy
September, 2020, Local Artist Writes, Illustrates a Book on Gender Diversity, The Daily Gleaner
July 2020, Forrester has a Brush with Fame, The Daily Gleaner and the Telegraph Journal
July 2020, Artists Hope Colorful Mural Downtown the Beginning of Something Bigger in Fredericton, The Daily Gleaner
December 2019, A Splash of Art Coming Downtown, The Daily Gleaner
December 2019, Sharing Space, Created Here Magazine