The Art of Laurel Hausler
A Vibrant and Dreamlike World
Edited and arranged by Robert Friedman
The haunting art of Laurel Hausler seems to hover, wraith-like, between two worlds: a vibrant sensory world of gorgeous color, often irradiated with light like nerve endings, and a starker, surreal world of distorted figures.
Dreamlike, even tranquil-appearing, Hausler’s paintings yield their meanings only after repeated viewings. The richly impressionistic Beauty Queen, for instance, is an image of feminine beauty either emerging out of memory or dissolving into its elements; the more the viewer stares, the more elusive the image becomes.
So too with Prom Queen, Bad Debs, Judiths and the Wolf, Girl in Heels, Witch, and First Aid/Possession—unsettlingly mysterious images that seem about to dematerialize even as we stare.
What is a ghost?—in Hausler’s vision, a ghost is likely to be a blurred memory, perhaps a memory of the very self that is remembering. We try—yet we fail—to completely recall the wraith-like beings we were as children; there may be an aura of innocence about the images we summon forth but perhaps it is only the aura of incompleteness, a paralysis of memory, as in Early Memory and On the Cliffs.
Such enigmatic paintings as Ghost Baptism, Haunted House (Impossible windows), Yuki-Onna (Snow Ghost), and Spirit Photos are striking in their elegant formal composition; like much of Hausler’s work they suggest riddles to which there are no answers as in the similarly beautiful and enigmatic paintings of Edvard Munch.
Hausler’s more forthright portraits, too, are likely to be gorgeously impressionistic, faces seen up close yet no less elusive for being magnified, like the cover art she created for “Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers” and “A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers” (both Akashic Books) as well as the more Goya-esque Hernev, Hymnev, Feral Child, and Judiths and the Wolf.
Horrific images—Special Friends, Rabid Dog in the Yard, the eerily finicky blood-drenched cover of the Suntup edition of my novel “Zombie”—are likely to deceive the eye with their beauty; but all of Hausler’s art-works seduce the viewer with odd, translucent colors that seem particular exclusively to Hausler.
Though I have scrolled through her works of art many times, I am always surprised to discover something I had not noticed before; Hausler’s imagination seems limitless and her love for sheer color a delight to the eye.
Laurel Hausler says of herself:
“I was born in the DC suburbs. After studying Literature for several years at Gettysburg College, I moved to New Orleans. Encouraged by the occult hodgepodge and powerful self-taught art of the city, I began to paint in oil—figuring things out through trial and error.
Stints at Catholic school, alternating periods of excess and introversion and a love of history provide a base of imagery for the language of my work. The addition of wax and encaustic as media allows for greater depth, mystery and luminosity; a painting can become a sculpture or a carving.
Each painting has a face and each painting, a story. An idea for either can come first. The "story" can be a strange history, an emotion, a fable, a crime, or an everyday awkward exchange. I prefer to let the viewer determine their own story in each scenario.
My work defines itself until it encapsulates a frame of mind. By placing everyday emotions into mysterious tableaux, I am more able to understand, control and transform that in life which is frightening and unknown.
I now divide my studio time between Virginia and New England.”
Oh my, Laurel's art is mesmerizing. As an artist, I know what a fine line she travels in creating such mystery and beauty that travels between the light and darkness. Thank you so much for highlighting her art today, just the inspiration I needed as I try to paint the mystical magic I experienced while on a women's retreat in Iona Scotland. Laurel's work is the perfect connection I was thinking about and so perfect for so many of your books as well Joyce. Just beautiful. Thank you. xx
Incredible paintings!