When a choreographer invited me to show some artwork in the space where she was performing, I discovered the challenge, and love, of drawing the human body in motion. I attended a rehearsal with the dancers and began drawing them in my sketchbook, using simple, gestural lines. It was so fun and exciting! It was like I was dancing, too!
In particular, I am in love with line and how it can express so many aspects of movement–like the pathway, speed, weight, emotion, spirituality, truth, and soul of the dance. And I realized that not only was I recording the dancer’s actions, but also my own physical/mental/emotional response. This has led me to create works that focus on my own movement. Instead of watching and drawing someone else moving, I’m feeling the movement in my own body.
Doing this kind of work has naturally led to improvising and performance. I often take my sketchbook to dance and music performances. Sometimes someone next to me will be curious about what I’m doing. People are fascinated with the drawing process, so I decided to bring it to an audience in the form of collaboration with dancers and musicians on stage. The ‘stage’ can take many forms–an actual stage with proscenium, a museum, a storefront, outdoors in the woods or on city streets. I learn so much from the other artists I work with. This part of my practice provides me with a wonderful sense of community and connection.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES
2023
Live Drawing, Viewpoint Gallery, St. Paul, MN
Live Drawing and performance with Alys Ayumi Ogura, St. Paul Art Crawl, St. Paul, MN
2022
Live Drawing with musicians, Viserny, France
Live Drawing with Nathan Hanson, L’Alchimiste Uzerche, Uzerche, France
2021
LIve Drawing, Front Lawn Concerts, St. Paul, MN
Live Drawing, solo show, St. Paul Art Crawl, St. Paul, MN
2020
Performance, Icehouse, Minneapolis, MN
2019
The Human Body in Motion, artist-in-residence at Teatro San Materno, Ascona, Switzerland
2018
The Moving Line #2, Espace en Cours, Paris, France
Eye Hand Gesture with Black Label Movement, Ritz Theater, Minneapolis, MN
Eye Hand Gesture Exhibition, Univ of MN Wilson Library, Minneapolis, MN
2017
Confluence Amidst Buckthorn, performance with Nathan Hanson, Preston, MN
The Moving LIne, performance with Pozzi/Cueco, Espace en Cours, Paris, France
Moving Line, solo exhibit, Fienile Fluo, Bologna, Italy
Festival Danza Urbana, artist in residence, Bologna, Italy
2016
Artwork of Nancy Ariza and Lara Hanson, duo exhibit, East Side Arts Council, St. Paul, MN
2015
Artworks of Lara Hanson, solo show, Yoga Sanctuary, Solomon’s Porch, Minneapolis, MN
Artworks of Lara Hanson, solo show, Gallery 2, Faith, Health and Wellness Ctr, Minneapolis, MN Artwork of Lara Hanson and Kristi Kuder, duo exhibit, Plymouth Church, Minneapolis, MN
2014
4 x 4 = 100 Choreographers, collaborative performance, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN 2011 Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams, performance Northern Spark Festival, St. Paul, MN
St. Paul Almanac Reading events, live drawing, St. Paul, MN
2010
One, Two, Three Burgundy, drawing performance with cellist Didier Petit, St. Paul, MN
St. Paul Almanac Reading events, live drawing, St. Paul, MN
2009
St. Paul Almanac Reading events, live drawing, St. Paul, MN
St. Paul Art Crawl performance, with Hanson/Roessler, Sheila Regan, and Matthew Hodge Drawings from Field Songs, solo exhibit, Southern Theater, Mpls, MN
2008
Marking Movement, solo exhibit, American Dance Festival, Durham, NC
Unfamiliar Geometry, performance, Electric Eyes Festival, Southern Theater, Mpls, MN Unbranded, performance with Michelle Kinney and Gary Waryan, Ritz Theater, Minneapolis, MN
C.A.R.E., group exhibit, Leung Fong Oi Wan Art Gallery, Hong Kong
Selected Works, solo exhibit, Capitol Hill gallery, Saint Paul, MN
Life/Line, solo exhibit of drawings at the Southern Theater, Mpls, MN.
2007
Visual Artist in Residence, American Dance Festival, Durham, NC
2006
Women in Spirituality Conference, performance with Kinetic Evolutions Dance, Mankato, MN
JERWECA Center for the Arts performance, with Claire Barratt, Jersey City, NJ
2005
Jersey City Artists Studio Tour performance, with Federico Ughi, Jersey City, NJ
Between Ma and a Soft Space, performance, Chashama, New York, NY
Cathedral Arts Festival 2005, six hour drawing performance,Jersey City, NJ
2004
Antiphony,performance with Ken Medema and Nathan Hanson, Birmingham, AL
Motion Sculpture Movement Installation, performance, Chashama, New York, NY
2002
Improvisation #2, performance, Physical Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
Walk Through, performance, Physical Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY
2001
sPACe Aerial Dance Fest, drawing performance, Physical Arts Ctr, Brooklyn, NY
PAC Space group show, Physical Arts Ctr, Brooklyn, NY
2000
Employees’ Art Show, group show, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
Drawings from The Bloody Chamber, solo show, St. Mark’s Theater, NYC
PUBLICATIONS
2018 cover La Performance Della Memoria, by Francesca Bortoletti, Baskerville Books, Italy
2005 Improvisation is Dead/Long Live Improvisation, Movement Research Performance Journal #29,NYC
COMMISSIONS
2007 t-shirt design, 75th Anniversary, American Dance Festival
2018 cover La Performance Della Memoria, by Francesca Bortoletti, Baskerville Books, Italy
EDUCATION
2001-2004 Goddard College, Plainfield, VT,
MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, Drawing, Dance
1996-1998 College of Visual Arts, St. Paul, MN,
BFA program, Drawing and Painting
1986-1990 St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN,
B.A. cum laude, Art Education