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2023- Studio Artist Residency, MRKT Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2021- M.F.A. in Visual Arts, California State University, Fullerton
2017- B.A. in Visual Arts, California State University, Sacramento
Solo Exhibitions
· *Neon Raspberry, Occidental, CA, Upcoming in October 2025
· *WAL Public Market Gallery, Sacramento, CA, Upcoming in August 2025
· A Soft Skyward Gaze, Four Barrel, Mission, San Francisco, CA, July 2024
· A Soft Place to Fall, Valencia Street Vintage, San Francisco, CA, November 2023
· Assimilator, Duff Gallery, California State University, Fullerton, CA, December 2021
. Papier, WAL Public Market Gallery, Sacramento, CA, June 2019
· Dans le Jardin, R. W. Witt Gallery, Sacramento State University, September 2017
Selected Group Exhibitions
. Art of Food, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA, November, 2024
. Light and Dark, Occidental Center for the Arts, Occidental, CA, October, 2024
. Surrounded by Softness, Minnow Arts, Santa Cruz, CA, August, 2024
· Small Works II, Soft Times, San Francisco, CA, July, 2023
. Déjà Vu, GLLRY Garage, San Francisco, CA, May, 2023
. Studio Residency Trio Show, MRKT Gallery, San Francisco, CA, March, 2023
. Less Than and Old Pair of Centenaries III, Trash Lamb Gallery, San Diego, CA, November, 2022
. What the FCK, UMA Gallery, Oakland, CA, November, 2022
. Off the Grid: Contemporary Fiber Art, Barn Gallery, Woodland, CA, November 2022
. Meta Boost, Urban Hive, Sacramento, CA, October 2022
. Spooked, UMA Gallery, Oakland, CA, October, 2022
. Art Class, ARTHOUSE Gallery, Sacramento, CA, September 2022
. Textured, WAL Public Market Gallery, Sacramento, CA, September 2022
· Made in California, Brea Gallery, Brea CA, April 2022
. Left Coast Annual, Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica CA, April 2021
· Activate! v.2.0 , Begovich Gallery, Fullerton, CA, April 2020
· WAL Public Market Gallery, Sacramento CA, December 2019
· MFA x BFA, Freedman Gallery, California State University, Fullerton CA, April 2019
· Galentine’s Day, Broad Room, February 2019
· Sac Open Studios, Sacramento CA, August 2018
. 1810 Gallery, Sacramento CA, April - May 2018
· WAL (Warehouse Artist Lofts) Studio Show, Sacramento CA, May 2018
· BNSA (Big Names, Small Art), Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento CA, May 2017
Installation
. Jest Fest Music Festival, “9 of Pentacles”, Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA, April, 2023
. Maker’s Mart, Scottish Rite Center, Sacramento, CA, December 2022
· Second Saturday Art Walk, Installation Pop-Up, Blue Line Arts, Roseville CA, July 2021
· First Festival Music Festival, “Meditation Tent” , Sacramento CA, May 2018
Publications
· L.A. Photo Curator - In the City - Juliet Haas, Exhibition #5, Los Angeles, CA, Fall 2022
· Articulator, Published with Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento CA, Fall 2021
· Tube. Magazine, Sacramento, CA, Summer 2021
· Tube. Magazine, Sacramento, CA, Summer 2020
· Chapped Anthology, Bassethound Press, Sacramento, CA, 2019
· Chapped Literary Magazine, Spring 2017, Summer 2017, Fall 2017 , Spring 2019
· Tube. Magazine, Cover and spread, Sacramento, CA, Winter 2018
Artist Statement
In my artistic practice, I explore connections between human bodies and nature using playful shapes
and colors from my childhood memories to inspire wonder in our environment. Often, when I am
conceptualizing new ideas for work, I think back to playing outside as a little girl. I can feel the nuzzle of
snow on my knees, and the burn of ice crystals forming on my teary eyelashes, in search of the first
edelweiss blossoms. Prairie wildflowers and goldenrod tickle my ankles as my mother and I dodge lazy
bumblebees in a strange dance only we can remember. The nature around us is an unforgiving source of
possibility, that we seem to push aside as we grow older. I want to manifest youthful joy and
imagination into my work to share with other people, longing for new realities. Dreamy soft shapes in
my artwork transform figurative elements to make recognizable and predictable patterns feel new and
fresh.
Often creating a metaphor for time and the beauty of impermanence, I consider the life of my creations
as objects. Through my cultural background, I am interested in traditional women’s crafts- sewing,
embroidery, weaving- because of the honest techniques and materials they call for. By blending
techniques, such as photography, painting, and sculpture, I honor my past and present as an artist. I
need to create tangible, palpable artwork inspired by natural forms, passage of time, and dreamscapes,
along with nostalgic tactile experiences. The visual language of non-specific figurative forms with
familiar yet completely new forms call to the collective memory. I believe touch is medicinal to
humankind— this work is about being alive. My practice also celebrates friendship and compassion
though intertwined hand forms, and above all, respect for our world.
Penelope Lenaerts
