top of page
Laura Bauer
Unfolding Through Experimentation:
Fearless exploration in form.
1/2
Laura’s encaustic paintings and sculptural forms are not fixed objects; they are evolving conversations between material and intuition, where layers of wax, clay, and color reveal transformation, chance, and the courage of experimentation.
Laura Bauer’s practice moves fluidly between painting and sculpture, guided less by predetermined outcomes than by the act of fearless experimentation. Working primarily with encaustic, she builds layered surfaces where translucency and opacity coexist, allowing hidden shifts of color and texture to emerge slowly over time. Her sculptural training informs her paintings, just as her two-dimensional explorations open new pathways for form in space. By surrendering to chance, accidents, and the tactile voice of her materials, Bauer creates works that feel alive—dynamic compositions where presence, process, and transformation converge.
 Courtesy of the artist Photograph by James Autery |  Courtesy of the artist Photograph by James Autery |  Courtesy of the artist Photograph by James Autery |  Courtesy of the artist Photograph by James Autery |
|---|---|---|---|
 Courtesy of the artist Photograph by James Autery |  Courtesy of the artist Photograph by James Autery |  Courtesy of the artist |  Courtesy of the artist |
 Courtesy of the artist |  Courtesy of the artist |
BIO
Laura Bauer is a bi-coastal artist whose practice bridges painting and sculpture through a fearless exploration of materials. Initially trained as a sculptor, she has developed a multidisciplinary career spanning over two decades, working across ceramics, experimental sculpture, acrylic painting, and, most recently, encaustic painting.
Her process is guided by intuition and chance, allowing the material itself to dictate the direction of the work. Bauer’s encaustic paintings often reveal multiple translucent layers where light, texture, and color shift depending on perspective, while her three-dimensional works expand this language into space. Rooted in courageous experimentation, her art invites viewers to engage with forms that feel both familiar and open to interpretation poetic landscapes of transformation and discovery.​​​
​
PUBLICATIONS
​​
Laura Bauer’s work has been shared with the public through exhibitions, open studios, and artist talks that highlight her experimental approach across painting and sculpture. In 2021, she participated in the San Juan Island Artists’ Studio Tour, opening her studio to visitors to experience her creative process firsthand.
That same year, she received a Juror’s Award in Green: ON THE EDGE at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, where her mixed-media practice was recognized for its originality. She also presented an Artist Talk at Alchemy Art Center with fellow artist Katy Collier, offering insight into the evolution of her encaustic and sculptural works.​
​
​COURAGE IN MATERIAL AND FORM
​
Laura Bauer’s work is rooted in fearless experimentation, where painting and sculpture merge into a single visual language. Her encaustic surfaces and three-dimensional forms are shaped not by preconception but by intuition, chance, and discovery.
Through layering, transparency, and transformation, she explores how materials themselves can reveal unexpected paths, shifting between what is hidden and what emerges. Bauer’s practice invites viewers to witness process as poetry spaces where accidents become openings, and where courage gives rise to new expressions of beauty and presence.
​
bottom of page