Froelick Gallery is pleased to present our first solo exhibition with Lauren Mantecón. She has a strong history in Portland, and we are thrilled to welcome her back to Oregon.
EVENTS WITH LAUREN MANTECÓN FROM SANTA FE, NM:
*Exhibit Talk/Preview Reception: Wednesday, June 4, 5-7pm. Exhibit Talk 5:30pm.
*First Thursday Reception: June 5, 5-8pm.
*"Belle Geste" A Poetry Reading with 6 Artists Hosted by Eva Lake:
Wednesday, June 11, 6pm. (Lauren will not be at the poetry reading)
Mantecón notes about this exhibit:
"In my exploration of beauty, I have come to understand it as more than just an aesthetic—it's a divine intelligence that moves through us, fleeting yet eternal, both dark and light, subtle and profound. Beauty speaks to the soul, not just the eye, and it is this invisible, transcendent force that guides my work.
A Flash of Beauty is the culmination of a two-year journey into the intersections between form and spirit. The work is inspired by sacred geometry, ancient land sites, and the liminal spaces that might exist between dimensions—spaces that manifest as veils, geometric shapes, bursts of light, winged forms, and translucent colors."
Lauren Mantecón is an artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is a first-generation Mexican American who grew up moving back and forth between the east and west coasts negotiating displacement, the terrain of identity, and ultimately landing some place in the middle.
Lauren’s life-long studies of metaphysics, psychology, spirituality and a fascination with the inexplicable mysteries of life inform her work. Symbols of veils, mists, orbs, sacred geometry, iconic abstracted angelic forms, sting-like pearls, abstracted landscapes, and ghost vessels are her leitmotifs.
Lauren’s work follows the philosophies of 19th Century Romanticism and the Transcendentalists; specifically, their deep reverence for nature and spirituality supporting practices of self- reflection and personal insight. Lauren earned a BA in conceptual photography in 1989 from California State University and an MFA in painting in1997 from Portland State University, Oregon.
Over the course of her career, Lauren has presented 21 solo shows and has participated in 31 group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Mexico.
On Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 6pm we will gather together at the Froelick Gallery in Portland, Oregon in a poetic acknowledgment of beauty. Let it manifest in word and in gesture, as a step forward, a fluid position, a stance, a dance, a motion, a message.
As we searched for the beautiful gesture in the history of the world, we found the French dictum Beau Geste. Lovely as it sounds, this gesture is so magnanimous and fine that it steps aside, and lets others act, win or lose.
But let us not step aside. The Belle Geste steps up. In all the political acts which can transpire, a stand for beauty is necessary.
This reading is also inspired by the return of Robin Rosemond, a poet who read here in Portland throughout the decades of the 70s, 80s and 90s. She visits in celebration of the exhibition of Lauren Mantecón at Froelick and in return, we celebrate her.
Poets of the evening: Nathan Nakonieczny, Laurence Lillvik, Richard Speer, Diana Milia, Robin Rosemond and Eva Lake.
- Eva Lake
