About

Bio

Throughout her twenties, Loralee sold her possessions in order to journey and live across twenty-seven countries on five continents. She took risks to travel and build a library of creative and cultural sights, experiences, and knowledge to draw from in her paintings. Along the way, she painted constantly, created murals and participated in fundraiser shows, and countless exhibitions in galleries and museums.

Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she grew up exploring national parks on family camping trips. The varied landscapes and cultures made her wonder what was beyond our borders. Her 2010 thesis for her BFA at KCAD focused on environmental concerns, which remain an integral concept in her work.

Statement

Early visions of environmental catastrophes and socioeconomic injustices due to climate change struck me in the early 2000s after first learning about global warming. I wanted to express my concern for our natural world and its inhabitants, as well as envision how it could change in the future, by affixing air filters on the figures I painted.

In 2013, I left familiarity behind to extensively travel the globe and live and work in remote regions. I met kind, inspiring, thought-provoking people in all areas. I realized that my drive to depict the landscapes around me wasn't enough; I needed to reference the wise and fascinating cultures that were influencing how I saw the world. My lifelong obsession with patterns made textiles the obvious choice after I came across a chest of old weavings in my room at an artist residency in remote Bulgaria.

By studying and integrating symbolism within regionally-inspired textile patterns, my work gained another layer of complexity. Many textile designs have a cultural significance that I research and incorporate into the concepts of the work. They also represent a spiritual presence and connection between humans and earth; textiles themselves are often influenced by shapes and colors of the local landscape.

My paintings are both a celebration of our beautifully diverse world and a warning of an impending dystopian future should humanity stay on the destructive path it's been traversing. Along my travels, I witnessed firsthand how mankind's urge for progress benefits the rich and privileged at the expense of the poor and marginalized via the exploitation of resources and the effects of climate change. It is this environmental and societal injustice, which disproportionately affects Indigenous and Black communities, that I seek to bring awareness to through my work.

Living in Australia during the 2019-2020 bushfire crisis, I learned that if Aboriginal people had remained in control of land management, the crisis would not have happened.

For the past decade, using primarily oil paint or the occasional watercolor and gouache, I have been adding to my Futurelands series. What began with my art school thesis as a reluctant harbinger of things to come has morphed into more of a celebration of humanity and unique cultures in varying environments.

I want my art to be an educational conversation starter about climate change, the sacred ancient wisdom of Indigenous cultures around the globe, and how the two are now more relevant than ever.

Curriculum Vitae

Loralee overlooking a beautiful valley in New Zealand

Resume

Born

1988 - Grand Rapids, MI

Education

2010 - Bachelors of Fine Arts in Painting, Kendall College of Art and Design, Grand Rapids, MI - Graduated with Honors

Exhibitions

Gallery REPresentations

2019 - Black Cat Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2018 - Lions and Rabbits Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2017 - Tapu Te Ranga Gallery, Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
2017 - Alfred Memelink Gallery, Petone, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
2017 - Richard App Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2016 - Cascade Gallery, Cascade, MI
2016 - Richard App Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI

Select Solo Exhibitions

2022 - New Futurelands, Ferndale Public Library, MI
2019 - Solo Exhibition at Black Cat Gallery, Collingwood, Melbourne, Australia
2019 - LovArt Studios Soft Opening featuring the paintings of Loralee Grace, Rockford, MI
2016 - New Futurelands, Creative Artspace, Division Ave, Grand Rapids, MI
2016 - Futurelands, Madcap, Grand Rapids, MI
2015 - Futurelands, The Sparrows Coffee Tea & Newsstand, Grand Rapids, MI
2015 - Futurelands, Rowster Cafe, Grand Rapids, MI
2015 - Futurelands, Excerpt, Wegner Estate, Rathen Germany
2012 - Color Series Art Downtown, Louis Benton, Grand Rapids, MI
2010 - Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition, Black Lotus, Clawson, MI

Select Juried Group Exhibitions

2023 - Harlem Fine Art Fair with Irwin House Gallery, Manhattan NYC
2022 - Friends and Family - Nacht der Kunst Annual Art Festival, Glashaus am Viadukt, Leipzig, Germany
2022 - Gift of Art - Irwin House Gallery, curated by Channel Beebe
2022 - Grand Opening - Sozo, Ferndale Michigan, curated by Eradajere Oleita
2022 - WEvolve - Mental Health Fundraiser, Spotlite
2022 - Prodigal - at Irwin House Gallery, curated by Misha Omo, Detroit
2022 - Convergence - Dual Exhibition at Nicole Tamer Gallery, Detroit
2022 - Art As Resistance Building Community, Building Power - Swords into Plowshares gallery, Detroit
2022 - Mighty Real/Queer Detroit - M Contemporary Gallery, Ferndale
2022 - Mighty Real/Queer Detroit - at Cass Cafe, Detroit
2022 - All Women Anniversary Show - at Congregation Cafe, Detroit, curated by Chanel Beebe
2022 - People, Places, Things - Detroit Fine Art Breakfast Club, Centennial Show, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit
2022 - Connected to all - Environment, People, Community“ DFABC Beacon Park, Detroit
2022 - Looking for the Light - Mental Health show at Galerie Camille
2022 - Spring Salon - Detroit Contemporary, solo show winner
2022 - Art + Earth - Detroit River Coalition Earth Day Exhibition at Belle Isle Aquarium
2022 - Gifted, Holiday small works exhibition, Irwin House Gallery
2021 - We Evolve, A suicide prevention fundraiser pop-up at Spot Lite
2021 - At Whose Expense, Environmental Racism Campaign; Billboards around Detroit
2020 - Covid Creative Convention, online at www.covidcreativeconvention.com
2019 - Glow, 69 Collective, Neon Parlour, Thornbury, Melbourne, Australia
2018 - 90^th annual Muskegon Museum of Art Regional Exhibition
2017 - Group Show, Tapu Te Ranga Gallery, Island Bay, New Zealand
2017 - Group Show, Alfred Memelink Gallery, Petone, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
2017 - Pigment, Matchbox Studios, Wellington, New Zealand
2017 - Art Party benefiting UNICEF, Chicago, IL
2016 - On Repeat (Part 5), Neighbor Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2016 - The Spectacle Returns, Grand Rapids Autonomous Support System Harris Building, Grand Rapids, MI
2016 - Art Party benefiting UNICEF, Chicago, IL
2015 - Visiting Artist Show, Flat River Gallery, Lowell, MI
2015 - International Society of Experimental Artists 24^th Annual
2015 - International Art Exhibit, Den- nos Museum, Traverse City, MI
2015 - Art Party benefiting UNICEF, Bucketfeet, Chicago, IL
2015 - 46^th Annual Festival of the Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
2015 - 2Little, ArtisTTable, Richard App Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2014 - 15+ Street Art installations, Metaxourgeio, Athens, Greece
2013 - Art Center, UFO Studios Bulgaria, Ivancha, Bulgaria
2013 - Artist Residency DIONYSIA, Guest Artist, Simbahöllin Café, Thingeyri, Iceland 2012
2013 - Annual Summer Festival, Simbahöllin Café, Thingeyri, Iceland
2013 - Beauty and the Burden Fundraiser for SowHope, Goei Center, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - 100 Grand Show, The Nice Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Fortified Show, Dinderbeck, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Artprize, Vertigo, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Fundraiser for Japan, San Chez Grand Rapids, MI
2010 - First Annual Picnic, Dinderbeck, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Free Radical, 44 Ionia, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Soup: A Metaphor for Community, Dinderbeck Studio, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Kendall College of Art and Design BFA Exhibition, Old Federal Building, Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - Then and Now, Gallery 602, KCAD Grand Rapids, MI
2011 - ArtPrize, Boardwalk Condos, Grand Rapids, MI
2009 - Portrait Show, Gallery 602, KCAD Grand Rapids, MI
2009 - Collaborative Show, DAAC, Grand Rapids, MI
2009 - ArtPrize, Boardwalk Condos, Grand Rapids, MI

Artist Residencies

2018 - Sowing Seeds Global Artist Residency, Jaisalmer, India
2018 - Dreamers Garden, artist in residence, Kathmandu, Nepal
2017 - 4-day artist in residence at AIR Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
2017 - 8-month self-led residency, Wellington, New Zealand
2016 - 3-month self-led nomadic, campervan residency, South Island, New Zealand
2016 - 1-month residency at the Blasmurphy forest cabin, Baldwin, MI
2016 - 10-day research residency, San Francisco, CA
2014 - 1-month self-led residency in a remote cabin in Ceska Trebova and Prague, Czech Republic
2014 - 3-week Street Art Installation Residency, Meta Studios, Metaxagourio, Athens, Greece
2014 - 1-month remote Winter Residency with local artists, UFO Studios Bulgaria, Ivancha, Bulgaria
2013 - 1-month artist in residence, Mojo Budva Guesthouse, Budva, Montenegro
2013 - 2-week residency at local artist Ivan Tokic’s “New Ruins” Sculpture Park & Gardens, Split, Croatia
2013 - 3-month remote self-led residency, Dyrafjordur, Westfjords, Iceland

Awards

2016 - UICA Exit Space Mural Competition Award Winner
2015 - Best in Show, 2Little, ArtisTTable, Richard App Gallery, Grand Rapids, MI
2006 - Kendall College of Art and Design Scholarship of Merit

Selected Bibliography

• Viator book, Art Exploring Spaces and Places second edition - Featured artist (pp. 23-26)
• Lake County Star Newspaper article - “Artistic Inspiration in Lake County”, front page, Baldwin, MI
• Revue Arts Edition, Featured Artist, two-page spread, Grand Rapids, MI
• 24^th Annual Juried Exhibition Magazine, Dennos Museum, Traverse City, MI (p. 25)
• MLive On The Town Magazine, “From Where She Comes”, Grand Rapids, MI (p. 18)
• Online Blog review, http://camplinart.blogspot.com/2012/06/loralee-grace.html

Commissions & Collectors

• UICA + Cook Arts Center Mural 2015, Grand Rapids, MI
• Various international private and commercial painting, mural, and street art commissions
• Artworks in private collections abroad: Iceland, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, India, Bali, Australia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, & Ireland
• And in the United States: California, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, New Jersey, Kentucky, & Maryland

Loralee standing in front of her paintings at an exhibit

Loralee hanging a painting at an exhibition

Places I've Been

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