Working primarily in portraiture and painting, Lauren considers Indigenous presence and multiplicity by depicting everyday Indigenous lives. She invites family members, friends, and people she meets to sit for her portraits through painting. In doing so, Lauren challenges predominant representations and abstractions of Indigeneity, or the absence and erasure of it altogether, and the privilege and power historically embedded in portraiture as a practice.
“When I started my practice, [portraiture] was a way for me to get to know other Indigenous people in the communities that I was a part of,” Lauren shares in her interview with 221A. “In terms of representing Indigeneity…I like to balance these feelings of mourning and celebration, and the different sides of our lives.”
On display from April 16 to May 15, 2026 in 221A’s Project Space, Reception featured:
- 3 large oil portraits of studio sitters, painted during Lauren’s Fellowship
- A photographic series of Blackfoot community members, taken at the beginning of Lauren’s residency
- A window wrap featuring a detail from one of Lauren’s unfinished works
- A selection of annotated books, art catalogues, and monographs that significantly informed Lauren’s work during her Fellowship
- A new poem, “Native Portraiture: After Lauren Crazybull,” written for this exhibition by Cree poet and author Billy-Ray Belcourt
- Flowers for visitors to take home
Reception also includes two free, public events:
- Opening Night — Wednesday, April 15, 6–8PM
- Artist’s Tea Event — Saturday, April 25, 2–4PM
Cover photo by Sungpil Yoon.
Photos 1-6 by Byron Dauncey. Photos 7-8 by Dennis Ha.
Project Support
