BIO Laura Stokes, CONTEMPORARY ARTIST AND GALLERIST
Modesto, CA, United States
Laura Stokes is a retired Architectural Engineer with an additional educational background in visual art.
She studied art privately with Juan Rodriguez, BFA University of Washington, and Jim Abuan, MFA Otis Art Institute of LA County. In 2006 and 2007, she studied in northern Virginia with John Smith, an ink and watercolor artist trained in Europe before WWII.
She has actively pursued consistent production of her studio art since 2012. Her oeuvre currently includes neo-abstraction. Before pursuing her current body of work, she developed competency in figurative and realistic imagery.
To continue developing her art aesthetic, she dedicates time to visiting MOMA museums in large cities, prominent gallery websites, and brick-and-mortar galleries in large cities. She follows the work of Julie Mehretu, Kerry James Marshall, Yayoi Kusama, Ai Wei Wei, and others. She is influenced by the works of Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaller, Nathan Olivera, and many other historical 20th-century artists. She stays current with art world issues by reviewing articles on Artnet and similar sites and follows art auction houses such as Christie’s.
Her current artistic goals include promoting her art and that of colleagues, developing an extensive and sophisticated oeuvre, leaving a mark in California art history, and participating in the social issues of our time through the visual arts
Education
Modesto Junior College, Modesto, CA - Art History two semesters - Fall 2017 and Spring 2018
University of Texas at Austin 1974-78 - Architectural Engineering Program
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, 1971-1972 - Art; 1972-73 - School of Architecture.
Gallerist
At the San Francisco Art Fair, Booth C18, she represents Laura Stokes Gallery featuring Jim Abuan Artist, April 25-28, 2024.
In collaboration with the Peace Life Center/KCBP Community Radio, she managed a two-artist show with herself and Jim Abuan at the McHenry Museum, Modesto, from May to July 2023.
She hosted a Pop-Up Art Exhibition for herself and Jim Abuan in December 2021 at the Modesto Chamber of Commerce.
She conceived, financed, and collaborated with Jim Abuan and Juan Rodriguez on an art installation on immigration in the United States, shown in a rented venue in Modesto from July to August 2017.
She has maintained an online gallery presence at www.LauraStokesArtSales.com and www.LauraStokesGallery.com from 2015 to the Present.
In 2012, she conceived, financed, and managed an art walk with multiple artists, crafts persons, photographers, food vendors, and live music in Bremerton, WA, on the marina breakwater as the first commercial vendor on the then-new, half-mile-long breakwater.
Artist
She has shown her work publicly in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and California since 2012.
In California, she has shown her artwork in group shows at the Chartreuse Muse Gallery in Modesto and the School Street Gallery in Lodi. Her work was featured in the School Street Galley in a solo show 2016 and included in the August 2018 group show at bG Gallery in Santa Monica.
She began showing her work publicly in the Puget Sound region in Washington from 2012-2014 in local businesses and galleries, including the Bluewater Gallery, Poulsbo, WA, and her own open studio gallery in downtown Bremerton. Her work was shown in 2016 in City Hall, Seattle, as part of a touring show with other artists:
https://www.seattle.gov/arts/real-change-agents-portrait-project
http://artbeat.seattle.gov/2016/02/29/real-change-portrait-project-on-view-at-the-seattle-city-hall-gallery/ .
Nana’s Gallery, Anchorage, Alaska, showed her work in 2013-2014.
Events
Group Pop-Up Show LA, 2018.
Exhibitions
Art in Businesses and Public Venues:
February-March 2020, Langlois Music and Art Gallery, Modesto, CA
November-December 2019 The Studio Co-Working, Roseville, CA
July-October 2019 Evergreen Finance, Roseville, CA
February - June 2019 Deva Restaurant, Modesto, CA
City Hall Seattle, WA - 2016 - featured participant in a group art show with portraits of homeless persons.
Galleries
bG Gallery, Santa Monica, August 2018
School Street Gallery, Lodi, CA 2016 to 2018
Chartreuse Muse Art Gallery - July, August, 2016
BlueWater Art Gallery, Port Townsend, Washington - 2014-2015
Nana's Art Gallery, Juneau, Alaska - 2013 to 2015
monthly public art walks 2013 to 2014
Bremerton, Washington:
Mistarian Roses – Art Gallery
Laura Stokes Fine Art Studio
US Travel
Rockit Roost