Deana Lawson facts for kids

Deana Lawson (born 1979) is an American artist and photographer. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her photographs often explore themes like family, spirit, and the beauty of Black culture.

People admire Lawson's work because it shows many different sides of the African American experience. Her photos explore closeness, connections, and relationships. Her art is part of collections at places like the International Center of Photography. Her pictures have been shown in many famous museums and galleries. These include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

A special show of her work, The Hugo Boss Prize 2020: Deana Lawson, Centropy, was on display at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from May 2021 to October 2021.

Early Life and Learning

Deana Lawson was born in 1979 in Rochester, New York. She earned her first college degree, a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.), in photography in 2001. She studied at Pennsylvania State University. Later, in 2004, she received her Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in photography. This second degree was from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

Lawson once shared a story about her time at Penn State. She said she had to choose between studying business or becoming an artist. She decided to become an artist and has been happy with that choice ever since.

Teaching Art

Lawson started teaching photography at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey in 2012. In 2021, she became a special professor of Visual Arts there. She has also taught at other art schools. These include California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and the International Center of Photography.

Her Photography Work

Assemblage (2021) at the Museum of Modern Art in 2022

Lawson says she became interested in photography because of other African American photographers. Artists like Carrie Mae Weems and Renee Cox inspired her. When she was in college, she noticed there wasn't much information about photographers of color. This made her want to learn more about Black artists. She found inspiration in artists like Lorna Simpson. Lawson realized she could truly be an artist by making pictures.

Lawson's photographs are known for being carefully planned. She pays close attention to how her pictures are set up. She also focuses on important symbols from Black culture. Her photos often show the interesting details of Black homes. Even though she calls her subjects "family," they are usually strangers she meets in public places. Lawson explains that her work explores how people's experiences are shown on their bodies.

Detail from Crystal Assemblage (2020) at MoMA PS1 in 2022

In 2011, a writer for The New Yorker magazine, Jessie Wender, described Lawson's portraits as "personal and surprising." In an interview, Lawson talked about what inspires her. She mentioned many things, like old photographs, music, places in New York, family members, and even movies. She said that in her pictures, everything is carefully thought out. This includes how the person poses, the lighting, and the background.

Lawson has said that one of her most important works is The Garden. This photo series is inspired by a famous painting called The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. In 2014, Lawson traveled to the Congo. She was looking for ideas for her vision of "Eden." This trip led her to a small village called Gemena, which became the setting for The Garden.

Many of Lawson's photos are taken in New York. But she has also photographed people in other places. These include Louisiana, Haiti, Jamaica, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She hopes that by traveling, her work can show how Black culture is found all over the world.

In November 2015, Time magazine asked Lawson to take pictures. She photographed the area after a sad event in Charleston, South Carolina. A scholar named Steven Nelson noted that her photos for Time showed the aftermath of the event.

In 2016, one of Lawson's photographs, Binky & Tony Forever, was used as the cover art. It was for Freetown Sound, an album by the musician Dev Hynes. The photo shows young people in Lawson's bedroom. It focuses on the girl in the picture and her feelings.

Lawson's large photograph, Ring Bearer (2016), was shown in the 2017 Whitney Biennial. The movie Queen & Slim (2019) was inspired by Lawson's photography. It aimed to show a personal look at Black experiences and stylish home interiors. In 2019, Lawson photographed Melina Matsoukas, who directed the film. Lawson's work was also part of a traveling art show in 2019.

In 2021, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston organized a big show of Lawson's work. It later traveled to MoMA PS1. The show included her photographs and special art pieces she made with crystals.

Personal Life

Deana Lawson has two children with her former husband, who is also an artist named Aaron Gilbert.

Awards and Honors

• 2008–2009: Received a grant from the Aaron Siskind Foundation.
• 2013: Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her photography work.
• 2020: Won the Hugo Boss Prize from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
• 2022: Received the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize from the Photographers' Gallery in London.

Art Shows

Solo Exhibitions

• 2014: Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, Deana Lawson: Mother Tongue
• 2017: Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, Deana Lawson
• 2018: Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, New Work
• 2018: Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Forum 80: Deana Lawson
• 2018–2019: The Underground Museum, Los Angeles, Deana Lawson: Planes
• 2020: Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, Deana Lawson: Centropy
• 2021: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, The Hugo Boss Prize 2020: Deana Lawson, Centropy

Group Exhibitions

• 2016: The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, Black Cowboy
• 2017: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The 2017 Whitney Biennial
• 2018: Gordon Parks Foundation, New York, American Family: Derrick Adams and Deana Lawson
• 2018: Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, Rhode Island, The Phantom of Liberty

See also

In Spanish: Deana Lawson para niños