Lawrence Pitre: Northwest African American Museum, Seattle, until October 27, 2017
Hooverville Skinner Eddy Shipyard, 1932.
We Are One
Lawrence’s current series “We Are One” depicts life in the Seattle’s Central Area which was historically been one of the most diverse neighborhoods from the year 1851 to present day. The collection began in January 2016 and contains 28 original acrylic paintings. Lawrence created this series as a tribute to the memories related to our past, present and contemporary life. As a artist Lawrence constructs images as a vehicle for questioning concepts about the role of current traditions, the nature of family and our spiritual connection to the earth. Just as Jacob Lawrence brought an enormous amount of dignity to his work, Lawrence mirrors this dignity and creates visual art which compels us to stop and think: “Is visual art met to be decorative or a symbol of the culture which we live in”.
Lawrence was born in the Central Area of Seattle. He was introduced to art at an early age by his parents, painting by the numbers they called it. During this time Lawrence like many other children growing up in the Central Area was looking for an identity and visual Art became that mystical vehicle.
24th Street Market
About the artist:
After receiving his AA Degree, Lawrence transferred to the University of Washington into the School of Art where he found himself in a world of basic concepts, shading techniques and not exploration. It wasn’t until a figure drawing class that Lawrence began to cultivate his artistic talents under the direction of the Renowned Artist “Jacob Lawrence “
Upon completion of his BA in Fine Arts, Lawrence quickly learned that self-expression was a key to creative cultivation. So Lawrence became a Freelancer artist selling his original graphic and fine art designs to Nordstrom Fashion Department for textile prints. During this time Lawrence was also invited to a variety of invitational and promotional gallery exhibitions at La Maison Blue, Friesen, Metropolis Contemporary, Seattle Hilton and the Washington State Convention Center.
Denny family.
In the fall of 2015 Lawrence decided to bridge the gap between his government career and his artistic passion and enrolled in the Masters of Fine Arts Leadership Program at Seattle University. As a reemerging artist Lawrence has continued to challenge himself by creating two additional series called the “We Are One” and “Chocolate Mud” which is driven by urban renewal and displacement related to the Central Area in Seattle.
Personally, Lawrence sees his artistic endeavors as self-expressions depicting life experiences, which include positive and negative perspectives upon struggles, love, joy and spirituality. As a principle means of evaluating and expanding new techniques, Lawrence extends his pallet with broad hues and shapes. The colors selected for each composition reflects light surfaces and particular contrasting elements using all primary, secondary and tertiary colors. As a collagist and/or expressionist, Lawrence thinks it’s important to understand the grass roots, which have begun and/or is associated with the beginning of modernism.
Filipino Father and Child
Lawrence continues to design using new a fresh approaches combining commercial art with fine art. Lawrence’s creative explorations are created to invoke the quality of life and our very existence with images and symbols representing a modern way of life. For more information or inquiries regarding purchasing original art work, commissioning or collaborative projects please contact Lawrence via email or his social media channels.(text and copyright images: the artist)