LAURA SANDERS: Force of Nature

MAY 16 – AUGUST 23, 2025

The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present a mid-career survey of work by Laura Sanders, an artist whose lush, photorealistic oil paintings of women and girls immersed in natural environments merge the genres of landscape and figurative work. Her subject matter considers the complex realities of women venturing beyond perceived safe places, as well as environmental concerns and the effects of consumerism. Another theme evident in this exhibition is the passage of time, as depicted in the portraits of her model, her daughter Elena, from a young child to an adult woman.

Laura Sanders is a Columbus-based artist who also maintains a studio in New York. She is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design. Her work has been exhibited at Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY and Nino Meier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA and is in the permanent collection of the Columbus Museum of Art and the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, West Palm Beach, FL, as well as many other public and private collections.

In conjunction with the exhibition, The Co will produce a catalogue with an essay by Heather Jones. Both the catalogue and a selection of prints by the artist will be available for purchase in The CoSHOP Pop-up Print Shop.