lauren kalman

Thanks go to the University of Stellenbosh, Visual Arts Department and Gussie van der Merwe for their assistance in components of this work.

Blooms, Efflorescence, and Other Dermatological Embellishments

2009 Sienna Gallery, Lenox, MA

2009 University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA

2010 The International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago, IL

Click on image for a larger view with captions.

In my current work I am replicating and transforming disease through illustration, jewelry objects and photography. These diseases including acne, cancer, herpes, and syphilis, are presented in my work as jeweled infections, lesions, and soars. They are hybridizations of objects we associate with beauty, status, or wealth, and the grotesque or undesirable aspects of the skin.