About the Artist
Lara Venema is a mixed-media artist based in Chicago, IL. She uses her work to reflect her personal history and explore themes of fashion, society, and female empowerment. Lara crafts her pieces by painting with acrylics, then fusing the paintings with unconventional materials such as money, cans, Swarovski crystals, tapes, disco balls, real butterflies, and more to create vibrant narratives. Her creative process, a harmonious blend of acrylic painting, collaging, and epoxy pours, presents dimensionality and invites viewers into a celebration of pop culture and life, capturing her figures in a moment and bringing them to life.
Lara holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbia College in Chicago. Her award-winning art is presented alongside world-renowned artists in galleries across the USA and has been featured multiple times on WGN News.
Lara splits time between Florida’s east coast and Chicago’s Gold Coast with her husband, and their two Pomskies. When not in the studio creating, she enjoys being on and around the water, fine dining, traveling, watching documentaries, and spending time with friends and family.
Join her in this visual journey where each brush stroke and carefully chosen object coalesce into a tapestry of shared experiences.