Laura Kimpton is the conceptual force behind the Monumental Word Series that began back in 2009 at the annual Burning Man art event in Nevada. Jeff Schomberg has collaborated with Laura in building and installing her revolutionary conceptual designs. Viewers are encouraged to interact with each word on their own terms. These Monumental Word sculptures often evoke varied emotions and interpretations, and can mean different things to different people.

 

The series has been widely embraced across the globe. XO was selected as part of the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian) Burning Man exhibition. Several municipalities have installed words to capture the essence of their cities. The City of West Palm Beach, Florida purchased BE ART, their first large-scale art purchase in over two decades. The City of Arlington, Texas purchased DREAM, which was installed at the Dream Park located near the Dallas Cowboy’s Football Stadium. The City of Reno, Nevada purchased BELIEVE as a tribute to the city’s revitalization, its “Renossaince”. Kimpton’s Monumental Words have been displayed at the Sundance Film Festival, the Life is Beautiful festival, the TED Conference, and the University of California Riverside. The Venetian in Las Vegas purchased a LOVE, proudly displayed in their two-story waterfall atrium. In 2015 LOVE was featured at the BottleRock Music Festival in Napa, California to great excitement and acclaim. Kimpton’s Monumental Word installations have been purchased by the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa, California as part of their 2 permanent collection, and have been purchased for several prominent private collections across the country.

 

Articles on and images of the Monumental Word series have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Rolling Stone, Huffington Post, the Press Democrat, Town and Country, SF Magazine and Inc, to name a few. Kimpton’s Words have been exhibited in New York City, Salt Lake City, Reno, Riverside, and San Francisco, as well as internationally in Puerto Rico and China. Her sculptures have been included in exhibitions at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art, Santa Rosa Junior College Museum and galleries in New York and the Bay area. Kimpton’s work consists of painting, mixed-media installations and sculpture. Her creativity stems from a desire to question traditional views on social interaction, invoking through her art a reaction and discussion from her viewers that ultimately complete her projects. Kimpton is always exploring new mediums in her search

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1963       Born in Chicago

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Selected Exhibitions

2019   SF Art Market, Timothy Yarger Fine Art, San Francisco, CA

2019    Art Palm Springs, Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Palm Springs, CA

2019    LA ART SHOW, Timothy Yarger Fine Art, Los Angeles, CA
2016    “BE ART”, Commissioned for the City of West Palm Beach, FL
2016    “MAGIC”, Commissioned for Magic City Art Park in Miami, FL
2016    “LOVE”, Commissioned by the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas, NV
2016    “@EARTH #HOME”, Burning Man Installation, Black Rock City, NV
2016    “Rainbow LOVE”, Commission for the Grand Hyatt, San Francisco, CA
2016    “LOVE”, Commission for BottleRock Music Festival, Napa, CA
2016    “Word”, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Arts, Peekskill, NY
2016    “LOVE”, Omar’s, New York, NY
2015    MYTHS WORDS & FIRE – Activation & Installation
Art Basel Miami Beach
2015    “Buck $hot to the $oul”, Zener Schon Contemporary Art, Mill Valley, CA
2015    “BELIEVE”, Purchased by City of Reno, Permanent Installation, Reno, NV
2015    “DREAM”, Commission for “Dream Park”, Permanent Installation, Arlington, TX
2015    “LOVE”, BottleRock Music Festival, Site Installation, Napa, CA
2014    “LOVE”, Sonoma County Fair, Site Installation, Sonoma, CA
2014    “Pyramid of Flaming LOVE”, Burning Man Honorarium, Installation, Black Rock, NV
2013    “BELIEVE”, Burning Man Honorarium, Site Installation, Black Rock, NV
2012    ArtPadSF Exhibition, Featured Artist, San Francisco, CA
2012    May 2012 ArtPadSF. Featured Artist.
2012    Honorarium Burning Man
2011    Honorarium Burning Man
2011    “Love” – Burning Man
2011    “Flying Solo”, McLoughlin Gallery, San Francisco
2010    “OINK”, Burning Man Honorarium, Site Installation, Black Rock, NV
2010    “His & Her: Line in the Middle”, Project One Gallery, San Francisco
2009    “Rauschenberg Tribute”, Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur, TX
2009    “Bass Camp”, Foundation Art Auction, Sundance Film Festival,
Park City, UT
2009    “Book of the Raven”, Public Installation, Reno, NV
2009    “Who Gave Birth”, Burning Man Honorarium, Site Installation,
Black Rock, NV
2008    “Close to the Flame: In the Spirit of Burning Man”,
Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, California
2008    “The Art of the Book”, Group Exhibition, Donna Seager Gallery,
San Rafael, CA
2008    “SlideSlam”, di Rosa Preserve, Napa, CA
2008    “Bringing Back the Flame”, Santa Rosa College, CA
2008    “Let It Go”, Beulah Gallery, Olema, CA
2008    “Book of the Raven”, Burning Man Grant Recipient,
Site Installation, Black Rock, NV
2007    “Burning Words” Solo Exhibition, NY Studio Gallery, New York
2007    “Flow Miami” Art Fair, Donna Seager Gallery, Miami
2007    “Women’s Work” Exhibit, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA
2007    “Celtic Forest”, Sculptural Site, Burning Man Grant Honoree,
Black Rock, NV
2007    Installation (with Jeff Schomberg), Forest Ethics Foundation,
San Francisco, CA
2006    “Mynd Too” Solo Exhibition, Schomburg Gallery,
Bergamot Station, Los Angeles
2006    di Rosa Preserve, Annual Benefit Art Auction, Napa, CA
2006    “Who’s the Judge” Solo Exhibition, San Francisco
2005    Felix Kulpa Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Santa Cruz, CA
2005    “Committee of Me” Installation, Pigman Gallery, San Francisco
2004    Museum of Contemporary Art, Luther Burbank Center, Juried Exhibition, Santa Rosa, CA, Awarded Best of Show: Juror, Rene di Rosa
1989    Diego Rivera Gallery, Group Exhibition, San Francisco Art Institute