Survivor Skills

Beeler Gallery at the Columbus College of Art and Design, November 20, through January 31, 2026

Opening Reception, Thursday November 20, 5-7pm

I am pleased to have the opportunity to present Survivor Skills, an exhibition of paintings that consider the complexities of what appears to be a simple act, spending time alone in nature. As a survivor of sexual assault, an experience shared by many, I reflect on the constant calculations women and girls are forced to make each day. Vigilance intrudes on solitude, turning a routine walk into an anxious yet defiant act. The female subjects in my paintings are conscious of their need for self-protection, shown through gestures such as reaching for a stone or carrying a whistle. Young women, although not the only target for violence, continue to be the primary one. These paintings, created just before and during the pandemic, were selected from my body of work for their resonance with this theme. While they convey a guarded energy, they also reveal a longing for an effortless connection with the sublime in nature, a fragile experience easily broken by an intruder or even the thought of one.

Laura Sanders

Laura Sanders