“People can support artists in their communities by advocating for national healthcare, childcare, and eldercare. The cost of care is an impediment to many artists’ ability to have time in the studio working, or out of the studio working.
Also, buy art.”
What are you looking forward to in your art practice?
Lori Larusso (LL): I am always looking forward to making new work. I’m creating a large installation for the Alice and Harris Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati next summer. The street-level gallery is large and airy, and I’m excited to create a large installation for this impressive space. I’m also working towards my first solo show at Gallery Urbane in Dallas, Texas early next year. And, I’m looking forward to two residencies coming up, one in New York and the other in Florida. Both were postponed because of the pandemic, and now vaccinated, I look forward to exploring some ideas and processes in a different environment and connecting with other artists.
What accomplishments are you particularly proud of this year?
LL: I am feeling good about my recent solo show, Rogue Intensities at Quappi Projects, my first in Louisville. I also received an Artist Enrichment Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women earlier this year to publish a book that will include critical writing by Dr. Emily Goodman and Dr. Miriam Kienle and creative writing by Carrie Green and Molly Schoenhoff.
Alligator Alligator, 2020, Acrylic on panel, 30 X 65 inches
How can people continue to support artist in their communities?
LL: People can support artists in their communities by advocating for national healthcare, childcare, and eldercare. The cost of care is an impediment to many artists’ ability to have time in the studio working, or out of the studio working. Also, buy art.
Do you have any #protips or things you have learned in the past year that you would like to share with fellow artists?
LL: Make work even when no one is paying attention, especially when no one is paying attention.
Dinner Fish Snack Fish, 2020, Acrylic on panel, 15 x 16 inches
What is your go-to food of choice these days? Any new recipes that you have tried that you are excited to make again?
LL: I cook at home mostly, but have been eating more take-out than usual in hopes of supporting my favorite restaurants during the pandemic shut-down, specifically Indian food and pizza.
Coffee Service I, 2020, Acrylic on panel, 22 x 37 inches
Coffee Service II, 2020, Acrylic on panel, 26 x 36 inches
Service Coffee, 2021, Acrylic on panel, 26 x 36 inches
What are you reading or watching or listening to that you would recommend to others?
LL: I listen every week to the podcasts You’re Wrong About, Maintenance Phase, and You Are Good, and I also like Decoder Ring. All of these podcasts question, explain, and/or provide background to different cultural phenomena.
I recently read Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino and Ordinary Affects by Kathleen Stewart, both non-fiction books had an impact on how I think about my own work. I enjoyed reading The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett.
Roadkill & road snacks, 2021, Acrylic on panels, installation dimensions variable
Artist Bio:
Lori Larusso makes paintings and painting installations that explore issues of class and gender and how both reflect and shape culture. She has exhibited her work widely at galleries, museums, art and educational institutions in the US and abroad. Lori has been awarded numerous residency fellowships including Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, McColl Center for Art + Innovation, Sam & Adele Golden Foundation, Willapa Bay AiR, The Studios of Key West, and MacDowell where she received a Milton and Sally Avery Fellowship. She is a recipient of the Kentucky Arts Council’s Al Smith Fellowship, multiple grants from the Great Meadows Foundation and the Kentucky Foundation for Women. Lori is the 2019 Kentucky South Arts Fellow and is the recipient of the 2020 Fischer Prize for Visual Art.
Lori Larusso earned an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and a BFA from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP). She currently lives and works in Louisville, Kentucky and is represented by Galleri Urbane in Dallas, Texas. Lori has two upcoming solo exhibitions scheduled in 2022 at the Alice and Harris Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at Galleri Urbane, and upcoming residencies at Art + History Museums Maitland and chaNorth in New York.
You can learn more about Lori Larusso’s work on the website lorilarusso.com and by following her on Instagram@lorilarusso
