Harlem’s Claire Oliver Gallery is proud to announce Some Lands Are Made of Light, a solo exhibition of new intimately-scaled sculptures and jewel-encrusted drawings by Lauren Fensterstock.
In response to our current climate of political polarization and social upheaval, Fensterstock seeks to create works that offer moments of reflection and inner peace. Believing that each person can be an agent for positive change—within themselves, their community, and the greater universe—she uses her devout meditation practice as an entry point for these new works.
Some Lands Are Made of Light offers viewers a space to contemplate and reflect within the organic and spectral frameworks embodied by her sculptures and small-scale charcoal and embedded Swarovski crystal works on paper. A year in the making, this new exhibition features 30 new artworks on view in New York City, November 14, 2024 – January 18, 2025.
“… mandalas, sacred symbols of the universe …”
Fensterstock’s latest works are inspired by the South Asian religious and artistic practice of creating mandalas, sacred symbols of the universe and transforming these emblems into elaborate, jewel-like creations.
“I see my work as jewelry but not to adorn the body, but rather augment the soul,” states Fensterstock. “I invite viewers to pause and reflect on their place within a collective experience, and embrace their perceived imperfections—acknowledging that our differences, flaws, and struggles are what make us uniquely human.”
Each sculpture is a harmonious assemblage of repurposed treasures: natural crystals, quartz, chandelier parts, glass, Swarovski crystals, and antique beads, coming together to form wild lotus flowers, exploding planets, stars, and suns. Fensterstock transforms these disparate elements into iconic yet malleable emblems of transformation, scaled into intimate offerings. Her lotuses burst, curl, crackle, and shatter; in one piece, her natal constellations are mapped in glistening, starlike gems, while in another, the flower’s bulb takes the shape of a swirling, cavernous black hole.
“… intuition, contemplation, and care …”
The balanced contrast of light and darkness in Fensterstock’s work oscillates between sensations of clarity and mystery, miniature and monumental, embodiment and expansion. Each work begins with an ink drawing. From there, she constructs wood and steel frameworks, coats them in cement, adorns them with intricate mosaics, and finishes them with mortar and grout. Like assembling a puzzle infused with spiritual wonder, Fensterstock designs her mosaics piece by piece, each detail imbued with intuition, contemplation, and care.
The exhibition’s title is inspired by The Flower Ornament Scripture, also known as the Avatamsaka Sutra, a foundational Buddhist text that explores universal liberation through symbols, structures, and sacraments. Mirroring her daily meditation practice—where she carefully places gem-like offerings onto a convex metal tray, letting each stone fall into her lap to form a singular mandala—every shard in her sculptures represents a moment of presence, a convergence of people, places, histories, and materials.
In a culture that often emphasizes isolation and individualism, Fensterstock hopes her work will remind viewers of the intimate flickers of connection that, together, form brilliant beams of light.
Claire Oliver Gallery, 2288 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, Harlem, NY 10030, www.claireoliver.com
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