Artist Statement

My practice investigates the relationship between light and material. Primarily using glass, silver nitrate, mylar and resin, I produce multi-layered reflective works. I employ the analytics of math, chemistry, optics alongside the intuition of memory and play, creating evocative gestural works that invite viewers to meditate and reflect. While my wall hung glass works read as paintings, they are sculptural in their essence, and walk the line between image and object. Rather than traditionally rendering light, I rely on its physical presence and absence, conveying emotional memories and capturing fleeting moments from my subconscious. Pushing the boundaries of depth within 2D works, I chemically deposit silver on glass, creating mirror-like marks; as a result, these luminous works are interconnected to the spaces they inhabit. While painting with both textural opacity and ethereal translucency, I often excavate entire parts of a composition through hand-cut elimination, revealing my silver marks beneath and relying on suggestive remains. My work communicates a mysterious and paradoxical understanding of the world, highlighting our transient and skewed perception of light through observation and materiality. Inspired by the landscape and layered facades of Philadelphia, my recent work embodies the fabric of urban chaos while exploring ideas of metropolitan flux and tension.

My process is technically complex and distinct, born out of an arts education at The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts that allowed me to develop and experiment with my unrestricted curiosities. Constantly wondering how I can divest myself from the material and instead use it as a learning tool, I commit daily to working from an energizing humility rather than an exhausting ego. Instead of planning every step of the process and resigning to a predetermined outcome, I allow the process to surprise me. Often working on multiple projects and ideas at once, I never know what layers will end up together in the end. Inspired by artists such as John Cage, Pat Steir, Jose Parla, and Sam Gilliam, I create utilitarian objects that offer my viewers a space to think critically, pay attention and reflect.

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Artist Biography

Laura Sallade has exhibited throughout Pennsylvania, New York, Montana and Maryland, including group exhibitions at The Smithsonian Affiliated Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Art Center in Solomons, MD (2021), the NextFab Artisan Accelerator Show in Philadelphia, PA (2021) and the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill, PA (2015). She obtained a Certificate in Sculpture from The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 2013 and, during her studies, was awarded numerous grants and scholarships including the PAFA Fellowship Prize, the Richard C. Von Hess Travel Scholarship, the Susan Land Memorial Prize for Printmaking, the Marcia Lampert Prize for a Construction, the Lucille Sorgenti Scholarship and the Wolf Scholarship in Honor of Peter Paone. Sallade was selected for the Lackland Well Artist in Residence (2021), the Longwood University Visiting Artist (2021) and the NextFab Artisan Accelerator Fellowship (2021). She has recently been awarded the Michael Tomassoni Scholarship (2021), the Jurors Award from the Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Art Center in Solomons, MD (2021) and Philly Current Magazine’s ‘Best of Philadelphia’ (2019). Sallade’s work has been commissioned for the permanent collections of the Ritz Carlton in Amelia Island, FL, Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, the Atlantic Aviation Airport in Philadelphia,PA, Vail Resort in Vail, CO, Anthropologie Clothing Stores in Philadelphia, PA & New York City, NY, and Dualtone Music Group in Nashville, TN. Her artwork is found in private collections around the world in cities such as Paris, Philadelphia, New York City, San Diego, Marseille and Nantucket.

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Education

2013
Certificate in Sculpture, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

2014
Honorary Year of Study, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

2022
Continuing Education, Drawing Into Painting, NYC Crit Club

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Awards, Residencies, and Fellowships

2023
SIM Artist in Residence, Reykjavik, Iceland

2021
Lackland Well Artist in Residence, Farmville, VA

Longwood University Visiting Artist, Farmville, VA

Michael Tomassoni Scholarship

Jurors Award, Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center

Nextfab Artisan Accelerator Fellowship

2019
Philly Current Magazine, Best of Philadelphia.

2014
Philadelphia Sculpture Gym Fellowship

Richard C. Von Hess Travel Scholarship

PAFA Fellowship Prize

2013
Jurors Award, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia PA

The Alexander Prize, Honorable Mention

Susan Land Memorial Prize for Printmaking

Marcia Lampert Prize for a Construction

2012
The Alexander Prize, Honorable Mention

Lucille Sorgenti Scholarship

Wolf Scholarship in Honor of Peter Paone

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Solo

2023
Invisible Thread, Connie A. Eastburn Gallery, Langhorne, PA

2022
Any Versus All, Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY

2020
Hindsight, Underscore Art Gallery, Whitefish, MT

2019
UNSEEN, Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY

2018
Deep to Deep, Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY

2013
Returning Student Exhibition, Gallery 128, Philadelphia, PA

2012
Perception: A Study in Ways of Seeing, Elixr, Philadelphia PA

Two-Person Exhibition

2017
Blurred Lines, Massey Lyuben Gallery, New York, NY

Group Exhibition

2023
New Now VI, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2022
Finding a Memory, Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, MA

NYC Crit Club Group Show, Gallery NineDee, New York, NY

2021
SHINE, Ann Marie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center, Solomons, MD

Women Artists Breaking Out, Larchmont, NY

Artisan Accelerator Show, Nextfab, Philadelphia PA

2020
Group Exhibition, Five 3 Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA

Willie Green: Press Play, Massey Klein Gallery, New York, NY

Naturals, NoBA ArtSpace, Philadelphia, PA

Group Exhibition, Old City Jewish Art Center, Philadelphia PA

2017
Sallade, Scarpone, Dubinsky, Seraphin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

2016
Fall Collective, Massey Lyuben Gallery, New York, NY

Annual Juried Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Chestnut Hill, PA

2015
Emerging Talent 2015, Seraphin Gallery, Philadephia, PA

Annual Juried Exhibition, Woodmere Art Museum, Chestnut Hill, PA

2014
113th Annual Student Exhibition, PAFA Museum, Philadelphia, PA

Emerging Talent, L.G.Tripp Gallery, Philadelphia PA

The Satellite Show, The RePop Room, New York, NY

2013
Through, Architeqt Gallery, Philadelphia PA

112th Annual Student Exhibition, PAFA Museum, Philadelphia PA

Absolutely Abstract, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia PA

2012
111th Annual Student Exhibition, PAFA Museum, Philadelphia PA

Parktowne Place Group Show, Parktowne Place, Philadelphia PA