The Claire Oliver Gallery is delighted to unveil “Some Lands Are Made of Light,” a solo exhibition featuring new, intricately crafted sculptures and jewel-encrusted drawings by Lauren Fensterstock. In the face of today’s politically polarized and socially tumultuous climate, Fensterstock aims to create artworks that provide moments of introspection and tranquility. She posits that every individual holds the potential to be a catalyst for positive transformation—within themselves, their communities, and the broader cosmos. Her profound meditation practice serves as a cornerstone for these new creations. “Some Lands Are Made of Light” offers a contemplative space within the organic and spectral dimensions represented by her sculptures and small-scale charcoal works adorned with embedded Swarovski crystals. This new exhibition, a year in the making, showcases 30 new pieces now on view in New York City.
Fensterstock’s latest creations draw inspiration from the South Asian religious and artistic tradition of mandalas, sacred symbols of the universe, which she transforms into intricate, jewel-like compositions.
“I perceive my work as akin to jewelry, not for the adornment of the body, but rather to elevate the soul,” says Fensterstock. “I invite viewers to pause and reflect on their place within a collective experience, and to 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 reconfigures these diverse elements into iconic yet fluid symbols 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 form of a swirling, cavernous black hole.
The balanced interplay of light and darkness in Fensterstock’s work oscillates between sensations of clarity and mystery, the miniature and the monumental, embodiment and expansion. Each work begins with an ink drawing. From there, she constructs wood and steel frameworks, coats them in cement, embellishes them with intricate mosaics, and finishes them with mortar and grout. Like assembling a spiritually charged puzzle, Fensterstock designs her mosaics piece by piece, each detail imbued with intuition, contemplation, and care.
The exhibition’s title draws inspiration from “The Flower Ornament Scripture,” also known as the Avatamsaka Sutra, a seminal Buddhist text that explores universal liberation through symbols, structures, and sacraments. Reflecting her daily meditation practice—where she meticulously places gem-like offerings onto a convex metal tray, letting each stone fall into her lap to form a singular mandala—every fragment in her sculptures symbolizes a moment of presence, a convergence of people, places, histories, and materials.
In a culture that often accentuates isolation and individualism, Fensterstock aspires for her work to remind viewers of the intimate flickers of connection that collectively form radiant beams of light.
Exhibition dates: November 14, 2024 – January 18, 2025.
