R.J. Lawlor’s “In the Vernacular” Debuts

Another highlight during the June 10th Art on the Bricks Art Walk is the debut of a work of art that was inspired by and created during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. For the first time, all three panels of the work “In the Vernacular” will be on exhibit at Gateway Mortgage, 214 W Walnut Street. The work was created by artist R.J. Lawlor. The first of three panels was first exhibited in the Mile High City as part of the “Holy Moly, 2020 What a Year” exhibition at the Niza Knoll Gallery in Denver, Colorado. “This work is a narrative of popular pandemic icons and includes my personal responses to isolation during the 2020 health crisis,” explained Lawlor. “This is the first time all three panels have been exhibited together.” Lawlor’s inspiration came from the need to recycle the growing stack of delivery boxes that accumulated as a result of online shopping while quarantining in her home near Beaver Lake. She created while also listening to, and reading the daily news.  Each panel consists of columns of cardboard pieces suspended with copper wire from dowels. The illustrations and words are arranged in loose chronological order. All materials are recycled or repurposed. Media – paint, markers, jute, cardboard, recycled papers, copper and wood. 

“I stepped away from my usual style of painting to document and assemble a visual narrative regarding the unfolding news and experiences brought about by the health crisis,” Lawlor explained. “Typically I take visual notes in a sketchbook, but with the mounting collection of delivery boxes, I started recording images and words on cardboard.” With the exception of paint and marker, the media consists of recycled and repurposed materials detailing common experiences produced by isolation. Lawlor’s goal was to represent with simple materials and images the complexity of experiences ranging from toilet paper shortages, her quest to fight boredom and her confusing emotional responses to the pandemic.

Artist Ruth Lawlor is exhibiting an assemblage work of art. The tryptic, “In the Vernacular” is on exhibit for the first time at Gateway Mortgage. The work was influenced by international news coverage and the need to quarantine during the pandemic The artist recycled her mounting supply of packaging materials from ordering online and looked inward for inspiration as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.