Dave Laro (b. White River Junction, VT 1971) has spent the better part of the past two decades quietly, almost covertly creating a storybook whose pages take form as an amalgam of Americana and pop culture improbably brought together at the hands of a master craftsman.
As story teller, Laro unsuspectingly lures the viewer into his work, first with an immediate response to the visual impact of color, composition, and craftsmanship, and then with a blindsided hook that makes it impossible to walk away without trying to get inside of the artist’s head. At times, Laro’s “unwritten stories” run as deep as the viewer dares to go, while others reveal with the simplicity of a nursery rhyme. Much of Laro’s materials are retrieved from long forgotten relics that find their way to an attic corner, basement shelf, or if lucky, to a flea market where the artist may opt to give them a second chance. Laro’s work breathes new life into the abandoned in a way that can be uncharacteristically provocative, politically suggestive, and unquestionably deliberate.
In his latest work, Laro simplifies the delivery of his message without visually overstating his expectedly witty and wise perspective on everything from relationships to government to growing up. Laro’s constructions are borne of his ability to see things out of context, beneath the surface, and with redirected relevance.
Primarily self-taught, Laro refined his skills as a master wood worker and wood carver as apprentice to the renowned furniture designer and maker Charles Shackleton. Dave Laro’s work has been exhibited in galleries throughout New England, and is in private collections across the country and abroad.
EXHIBITIONS
SOLO SHOWS
2019: Dave Laro: Pulp, Holyoke, MA
2018: Mood Swing: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2016: Live and In Color: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2015: Lucky Strike: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2014: Candy Coated, Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2014: Material Matters, AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, NH
2013: What’s Inside, Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2012: Playing Games, Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2012: Carnival for Cowboy, Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2012: Man vs. Mouse, AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, NH
SELECTED GROUP & TWO PERSON SHOWS
2020: D & D Construction: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2017: Double Vision: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2017: Tell Me If You Find It: West Branch Gallery, Stowe VT
2016: Double Edged: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2015: 10th Season Anniversary Show: Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2014: American, Kobalt Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2013: AVA Selections, AVA Gallery and Art Center, Lebanon, NH