Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, Lauren Herzak-Bauman received a BFA in Ceramics from Bowling Green State University and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She returned to Cleveland, Ohio in 2013 to pursue my artistic career after living in Minneapolis, MN for close to seven years. She now lives and works in a former electric car-manufacturing factory in Lakewood, Ohio. Lauren’s practice ranges from pottery and drawing, to sculpture, installations and public art. Within each of these practices, she uses concept and craft to create a transformative experience for her audience.

"My ceramic sculptures explore the impossible pursuit of perfection, failure, and acceptance through material and process. I seek meaning in found objects that demonstrate a record of use and age – old piles of paper, or glass tumbled and found on a beach, for instance. Using my sensibility and handling of clay, I arrange handmade objects to make sculptures and installations that reflect these observations. I am curious about the relationship between the objects I make and my own perceptions of control, particularly how the essence of materials can reveal the human nature of the work and the error my hands impart. Many of my sculptures utilize the intrinsic qualities of porcelain clay to create undulating sculptural forms. In the Stack Series, I assemble dozens, sometimes hundreds, of handmade clay slabs. Individually, each unit seems incomplete or unfinished. Each piece is activated, however, once combined with hundreds of other like objects." - LHB