Lauren Pallotta Stumberg

Lauren Pallotta Stumberg (b.1981) is an Atlanta-based muralist, painter and arts advocate with a background in graphic design, education, non-profit management and international development. Her work honors the human experience through abstracted portraiture and symbolism. Her paintings are imbued with patterns that translate into the hieroglyphics of one’s journey. Much of the nuanced motifs in her work derive from experiences living and working abroad in the Marshall Islands and Sicily. Since moving to Atlanta in 2012, Stumberg has used her creative offerings to engage with community. She started Think Greatly with a mission to facilitate neighborhood projects as part of her social practice and to curate female-driven collaborations and narratives. Stumberg is one of two local artists to receive a 2017 Emerging Artist Award from the City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs. She is a Hambidge Fellow, and represented by dk Gallery in Marietta. “The symbol I use most frequently in my work is an abstracted magpie. This bird is fascinating to me because it is cloaked with superstition but can also be a symbol of good fortune. It is this perception of the magpie that inspires my work - the bird as an omen of change, and change, good or bad, is invaluable. In this way, the presence of the magpie is a calling to enter a crucible of the spirit. It asks you to rethink social norms, to shift perspectives, to be open to personal transformation.”