Currently On View

Lauren Krukowski: SEEING THROUGH
2024-25 West Bay View Foundation Fellowship

SEPTEMBER 10 - OCTOBER 31, 2025
Jordan Schnitzer Gallery at Dieu Donné
Brooklyn Navy Yard, Building 3, Suite 602, 11205

OPENING RECEPTION: Monday, September 22, 5:00 - 7:00 pm, RSVP required.
GALLERY VISITS: Available by appointment on weekdays between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. 

Dieu Donné is thrilled to present Seeing Through, an exhibition by 2024–25 West Bay View Foundation Fellow Lauren Krukowski, in the Dieu Donné Jordan Schnitzer Gallery. The exhibition will be on view from September 2 – October 31, 2025.

The work exhibited in Seeing Through explores the similarities and differences in patterning found in windows and textiles, as well as the act of looking in or out of a window, and looking through a textile or window screen. During her West Bay View Fellowship, Krukowski created several hand-drawn stencils influenced by common and historical quilt forms, such as the "pinwheel" and "saw-tooth" patterns evident in her work. In the wet studio, she combined stenciled patterning with hand-painted imagery to create highly layered images that reference fabrics, patterns, and dappled light. Thin layers of pigmented abaca sandwich this imagery, acting as washes of translucent color. Some works are further cut, sewn, and embedded into other handmade paper or sewn into printed textiles. 

Making this series offered the artist an intimate connection to home and family, especially her mother, who taught Krukowski to sew at a young age and decorated the walls of her childhood homes with quilts—the first artwork she knew. Papermaking and quilting have long histories of repurposing discarded materials. Many of Krukowski's works in paper include fiber from the artist's own recycled cotton rag and other embedded repurposed textiles and misprints. For Krukowski, working with recycled, repurposed, or waste materials is a hopeful practice—an act of cultivating awe in her work and life.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Abstracting imagery and creating patterns from her lived experiences, Lauren Krukowski mirrors the processes and aesthetics of textile traditions in print, handmade paper, and quilting. Her work undergoes various iterations as it is layered, cut, and sewn, resulting in combinations of color, texture, and pattern influenced by textiles and properties of light. She is drawn to color relationships that evoke emotional responses, similar to the musical frisson she experiences from vocal harmonies. These are deeply felt responses that are difficult to describe with words.

Krukowski earned an MFA in printmaking and papermaking from the University of Iowa in 2024 and a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010. Previous awards and artist residencies have supported her work and research, including recent artist residencies at the Peninsula School of Art, GoggleWorks, and David Krut Workshop, made possible through funding from the Stanley Award for International Research Fellowship and the Joseph Roberts Foundation. Recent exhibitions include “Tacit Knowledge” at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts and “And, And, And” at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ Project Art Gallery.

www.laurenkrukowskistudio.com
www.instagram.com/lauren.krukowski
Dieu Donné Webinar - Lauren Krukowski: Screens & Grids

ABOUT THE WEST BAY VIEW FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIP

Established in 2018, the West Bay View Foundation Fellowship is an immersive, full-time, six-month studio position for a visual artist with papermaking experience and a strong desire to use handmade paper as an art form. Fellows work alongside Dieu Donné master papermakers, gaining practical experience working in a professional papermaking studio that focuses on artistic collaboration.

Past Exhibitions

About the Jordan Schnitzer Gallery

Dedicated to exhibiting works on paper by emerging and established artists, the Jordan Schnitzer Gallery will host exhibitions, lectures, and public programming related to papermaking inside Dieu Donné’s home at the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Jordan Schnitzer states, “I am honored to have the gallery at Dieu Donné named for me, as someone who loves and promotes artists who make work on paper to further their artistic vision. Dieu Donné is the national leader in helping artists to create and use paper in their artmaking process. For over 500 years, art makers have made prints because of the magic created when ink, paint, and paper come together. I look forward to Dieu Donné’s many more decades of success.”
 
Susan Gosin, Founder and Co-Chair of Dieu Donné, remarks, “Jordan’s continued dedication to Dieu Donné exemplifies our legacy as one of New York City’s most significant cultural organizations. The Jordan Schnitzer Gallery will inspire others to connect with our 40+ year history and ensure that our gallery and studios remain a vital home for many more generations of artists working in handmade paper.”
 
Jordan Schnitzer is an influential collector of contemporary prints and multiples. Today, Jordan Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation collections exceed 13,000 works and include many of today’s most important contemporary artists. Jordan Schnitzer is president of Harsch Investment Properties, a privately owned real estate investment company based in Portland, Oregon, which owns and manages office, multi-tenant industrial, multi-family, and retail properties in six western states.