Nancy Staub Laughlin
I work exclusively with pastels on paper. I begin a “simulated still life” drawing by choosing carefully selected visual effects put into improbable situations. Welcome to my world. My process is as important as the finished pastel drawing, even though the viewer is unaware of the hidden steps. My “simulated still lifes” allow me to enter an unreal world of my own creation. Once this unreal composition is photographed and documented, it becomes a tangible reality.
I create these stills by first gathering specifically chosen “props” and then combining them to create a “new” concept of the still life. My extensive collection of mirrors of every kind, glass objects in every shape, sheer fabrics, baubles and sparkles, allows me to create the appropriate balance of translucency, layering and glitter. Bodies of water, be it bowls, fountains, photographs of oceans, or even a glimmer of a reflection of shimmery water, are also incorporated to add to the controlled, multi-layering of objects.
Photographs of landscape are also an added element, incorporated to serve as a natural counter balance to the glitter, sequins and sparkle. I set up my compositions in strong light that creates intense shadows, vibrant color, reflections and shimmering auras of light. The composition is then photographed to capture the moment. Many times the photograph itself is rephotographed to add more sparkle or juxtapositions. I work from the photograph to create the finished pastel on paper. I draw the things I love the most: the fun comes from combining all the elements, enveloping the viewer and unveiling my glowing and unique world.
Solo Exhibitions
2014 February- April , Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton College, New Jersey
2010 May- October, Johnson and Johnson World Headquarters, New Brunswick, NJ
2009 October, Noho Gallery in Chelsea, New York, NY
2007 January – February, Noho Gallery in Chelsea, New York, NY
2006-07 September- August, State House of New Jersey, Trenton, NJ
2006 April- May, Gallery at Schering-Plough, World Headquarters, Kenilworth, NJ
2004 October, Aqueous Worlds of Wonder, Noho Gallery in Chelsea, New York, NY
2001September, Newhouse Gallery, New York, NY
1997 September, Prudential Corporate Gallery, Newark, NJ
1996 June- August, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
1994 April-May, Princeton University, Bernstein Gallery Princeton, NJ
Group Exhibitions
2010 September-October, Six New Jersey Masters, Kean University,Burger Gallery, Union, NJ
2009 January-April, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University, National Association of Women in the Arts: Acquisitions 2003-2007 (postponed to 2010)
2007 February/March, Still Life, Curated by Ingrid Fox, former Curator, Pfizer Inc., Nicholas F. Rizzo Fine Arts, Chatham, NJ
2003 January, Hidden Threads, Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ
1998 July-September, Andrea Marquit Fine Arts, Boston, MA
1995 July-Sept, Altered Images, Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ
Reviews, Features and Honors
2014 July, Featured artist, Manhattan Arts, Renee Phillips, New York, NY
2014 March, Guest lecturer Noyes Museum of Art, New Jersey
2014 January, Featured artist,, New Jersey Arts
2010 October, Guest lecturer Johnson and Johnson World Headquarters, New Brunswick, NJ
2010 November, Guest lecturer, Present Day Club, Princeton, NJ
2009 October, Effervescence of the Spring Snow feature, City Arts, New York, NY
2008 January, accepted into the Permanent Collection, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University
2007 May, inducted, National Association of Women in the Arts, New York, NY
2007 May, Reception, State House of New Jersey, Honored by Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells
2007 January-February, Village Voice, New York City Top Picks , New York, NY
2007 January, Beyond Seductive Surfaces, Gallery and Studio, Ed McCormick
2006 September, Nancy Staub Laughlin lecture by Sam Hunter, Art Critic, Sponsored by Arts Council of Princeton
2006 October, Utility Yields to Artistry, The Trenton Times
2006 June, Feature interview, Martha Stewart Radio
2005 May, Nancy Staub Laughlin Gardens, Archives of Gardens of America, Smithsonian Institute
2005 May, Feature, Martha Stewart Living
2005 May, Inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Arts, Purnell School
2005 November, All in the Family, Princeton Packet
2004 October, A Few of Nancy Staub Laughlin’s Favorite Thing, Gallery and Studio, Ed McCormick
2004 October, Essay Aqueous Worlds of Wonder, Sam Hunter, Art Critic
2003 February, All that Glitters, Princeton Packet
2003 January, Hidden Threads, The Trenton Times
1996 August, “Water, Melons…” The Star Ledger
1996 August, Dots the Story, The Trenton Times
1995 August, Visions that Change Even as they Create, The New York Times
1994 May, Still Lifes Sparkle, The Trenton Times
1975 Sarah A. Peters Traveling Fellowship, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.
Collections
Agnew International, Princeton, NJ
Boecher, Lynch and Mayer, New York, NY
Bohlin, Cywinski, Jackson Architects, PA
Bristol Meyers/Squibb Corporate Headquarters, Princeton, NJ
Commodities Corporation (Goldman Sachs), Princeton, NJ
Capital Health Hospital, Hopewell, NJ
Chemco, Inc., Glen Cove, LI, NY
Colgate/Palmolive, New York, NY
Dumont/Landis, New Brunswick, NJ
Federal Reserve Bank, Boston, Mass.
Insurance Company of North America, Philadelphia, PA
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Johnson and Johnson, New Brunswick, NJ
Judy King Interiors, Princeton, NJ
Lake Shore National Bank, Chicago, IL
Merck Pharmaceuticals, NJ
Millholland and Olson, Princeton, NJ
National Starch, NJ
New Jersey Bell, NJ
New Jersey Natural Gas
New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ
Ortec International, New York, NY
Princeton Day School, Princeton, NJ
Renny,Inc., New York, NY
Robert Wood University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ
Sun Chemical, NJ
Tucker, Anthony, RL Day, Princeton,NJ
University Orthopaedic Associates, New Brunswick, NJ
Wilentz, Goldman, Spitzer, NJ
Wright Associates, Princeton, NJ
* In numerous private collections
Education
1976-78 Johnson Atelier Institute of Technical Sculpture, Princeton, NJ
1976 BFA Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1972-73 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
