Nancy Staub Laughlin is a New Jersey based contemporary artist whose work occupies a singular space at the intersection of pastel drawing and photography. Through a highly personal assemblage technique, she creates luminous compositions that invite viewers into immersive environments of color, light, and dimensional depth. Her art is not merely observed, it is experienced, unfolding slowly as the eye moves between layered surfaces and subtle visual dialogues.
A graduate of Moore College of Art, Laughlin has built a respected career defined by innovation, curiosity, and an unwavering dedication to her materials. Over the years, her work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions such as the New Jersey State Museum and New York’s Carter Burden Gallery, establishing her as a compelling and original presence in the contemporary art landscape.
Education and Artistic Foundations
Laughlin’s formal training at Moore College of Art provided her with a strong technical foundation while encouraging experimentation across media. This balance between discipline and exploration would later become a defining characteristic of her practice. Rather than committing to a single medium, she pursued a hybrid approach, allowing pastel and photography to coexist and interact within the same visual space.
This fusion was not a casual experiment but a deliberate response to the way she experiences the world, layered, textured, and constantly shifting. By mounting photographs beneath or alongside pastel work Laughlin creates compositions that challenge conventional boundaries between drawing and photographic representation, resulting in works that feel both intimate and expansive.
The Assemblage Technique: Layering Light and Dimension
At the heart of Nancy Staub Laughlin’s practice is her unique assemblage technique. Pastel on paper is carefully combined with mounted photographs, creating a dynamic tension between the softness of hand-applied pigment and the precision of captured imagery. This interplay allows her to manipulate light depth and atmosphere in ways that neither medium could achieve alone.
Her pastel work introduces fluidity, movement, and emotional resonance while photography grounds the composition in observed reality. Together they form a unified visual language that feels organic and radiant. The resulting works often shimmer with light, drawing viewers into spaces that feel simultaneously real and imagined.
Art historian Sam Hunter described Laughlin’s work as refreshingly unique, a testament to her ability to innovate within a field that often favors categorization. Her art resists easy labels instead offering an experience that unfolds gradually, and rewards sustained attention.
Nature as Muse and Metaphor
Nature plays a central role in Laughlin’s artistic vision. Rather than depicting landscapes in a traditional sense, she focuses on fragments, moments, and phenomena details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Her work reflects a deep fascination with the uniqueness of natural forms and the subtle relationships between them.
Laughlin’s approach is both observational and interpretive. She studies natural elements for their individual characteristics while also exploring their shared rhythms and visual harmonies. Through careful composition and layering, she unites these elements into cohesive works that celebrate both diversity and unity within the natural world.
Her art encourages viewers to slow down to look more closely and to reconsider how they perceive the environment around them. In doing so, Laughlin transforms nature into a space of contemplation and quiet revelation.
The Floriferous Tides of Froth: A Study in Radiance and Phenomena
One of Laughlin’s notable works, The Floriferous Tides of Froth, exemplifies her artistic philosophy and technical mastery. Created using pastel on paper combined with a mounted photograph, the piece continues her ongoing exploration of nature’s uniqueness and visual poetry.
In this work, Laughlin captures moments of sheer beauty and radiance, uniting them into a composition that feels alive with motion and light. The title suggests abundance and fluidity, floral energy merging with the ebb and flow of natural tides. Through her assemblage process, she invites viewers to open their eyes to phenomena that might otherwise remain unseen.
Rather than presenting a single narrative, The Floriferous Tides of Froth offers an experience. The viewer is encouraged to move through the work visually, discovering connections between forms, textures, and light. It is a meditation on observation, reminding us that beauty often exists in fleeting, delicate moments.
Recognition, Exhibition, and Critical Acclaim
Nancy Staub Laughlin’s work has been widely exhibited and critically recognized throughout her career. Her exhibitions at venues such as the New Jersey State Museum and Carter Burden Gallery have placed her work in dialogue with significant contemporary artists, while her solo exhibit at the New Jersey State House stands as a notable honor.
Her art has also been featured in prominent publications, including The New York Times Gallery and Studio, and Vue Magazine, further cementing her reputation within the art community. These features highlight not only the visual impact of her work but also its conceptual depth and originality.
Laughlin’s pieces are held in both public and private collections, a testament to their enduring appeal and emotional resonance. Collectors and institutions alike are drawn to the quiet power and layered complexity of her work.
Continuing a Luminous Artistic Journey
Today, Nancy Staub Laughlin continues to refine and expand her practice, remaining deeply engaged with the natural world and the possibilities of mixed media. Her work stands as an invitation to observe more closely, to appreciate subtle beauty, and to experience art as a space of reflection and wonder.
Through her distinctive assemblage technique and unwavering commitment to exploration, Laughlin has carved out a unique place in contemporary art. Her luminous compositions remind us that art, like nature, reveals its richest meanings when we take the time to truly see.
