About the Artist

Biography and Professional Activity

James L. Lawton

Over the years, James Lawton has served as a producer, curator, juror, visiting artist and has had solo, group, national and international exhibitions and professional engagements on four continents. He has been recognized in: The Sculpture Reference, Contemporary Techniques, Tools, Materials and Sculpture; Art in Detroit Public Places; Who's Who in American Art; American Artists in the Midwest; New York Art Review; Chicago Art Review; American Artist; The Centennial Review, Aesthetics and Ideology. His works are in both private and public collections: in the Asian American Art Centre of New York, Detroit, Western Michigan University, Mason and Williamston Public Schools and City of Hartland (in Michigan) and in the Edythe and Eli Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

Statement

My artwork reflects my interest in political and social issues. I create work often through the use of salvaged artifacts, found materials, cast and fabricated forms, and photographic images printed on acrylic, Mylar sheets, or etched in glass and sometimes by making use of projected imagery. Many of these works utilize these forms to carry the concepts of the past, and of memory. In many of my installations, viewers experience the work as they also become participants, discovering fragments of their own past experiences as they search to understand the historical references imbedded in the installation. In addition, their movement through the installation space also creates a new visual environment, casting shadows and shapes while passing around and through the space. Through the use of this imagery along with their own less tangible associations and memories, viewers are drawn into an experiential encounter with the past and made more conscious of the present.

Selected images of my work can be found on the following website: http://www.jamesllawton.com

Additional Links