Nancy Staub Laughlin

“I work in pastels on paper. First I choose props from my extensive collection of mirrors, glass objects, sheer fabrics, baubles and sparkles. These allow me to create an appropriate balance of translucency, layering and glitter. Submersion in water, or reflection off a rippling surface, is incorporated to add to the visual effects. Photographs of natural landscapes are added to counterbalance the artificial objects and effects. I set up in strong light that creates intense shadows, vibrant color, reflections and auras. The assembled still life is then photographed to capture just the right moment. I work from the photograph to create the finished pastel.”

“I draw the things I love – the fun comes from
combining elements and unveiling a
glowing world, which envelops the viewer.”

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Nancy Staub Laughlin received her BFA in 1976 from the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She continued her fine arts education from 1976-78 as an apprentice at the Johnson Atelier Institute of Technical Sculpture in Princeton, New Jersey.

Nancy’s work is in numerous corporate and private collection, and has been shown in galleries throughout the Northeast, most recently at the Noho Gallery in New York City. The exhibition inspired a catalog, with an introduction by Sam Hunter, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University. Gallery&Studio featured a full page review and profile titled, “A Few of Nancy Staub Laughlin's Favorite Things.”

She was featured and holored at the State House of New Jersey in 2007 by Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells. In January 2008, her pastel “Glowing Prisms” was accepted in the prestigious permanent collection at the Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University. Nancy will be in an exhibition at the Zimmerli in December 2008. Her next show in New York City will be in 2009 at Noho.