"Dancing With The Ancestors" by Lawrence Terry

23” x 30” mixed media on paper (2012).  Acrylic, burnt and smoked hues, copper mesh, copper foil.  Assemblage -- framed

Terry was born in St Louis, MO in 1952.  He grew up in a military family and lived both abroad and in the states in what for many years was an uprooted and unpredictable existence. Drawing became the companion that accompanied him and sustained him, and set the stage for what was to follow.

Terry went to Louisville School of Art and in 1978 moved to New York City, where he attended the School of Visual Arts.  His relationship with fire as an artistic medium began in the eighties. Terry was fascinated by flame, and also by its by-product, smoke, which could be used for marking surfaces.  He found the mystery and power of fire incredibly compelling, and loved the challenge of both the need for control, and the simultaneous freedom he experienced with it as a medium. Working with fire became an organic process, an elemental communion of creating art from something alive. Terry sees fire as part of nature, and the universal flow of energy surrounding us. Fire is linked through time to ancient tribal ceremonies, and his work process is definitely connected to that power and history.

Terry’s major influences are few but significant.  Isamu Noguchi was the first, and his work with stone, light, gardens and public art all impacted Terry with its profound reverence for and connection to life.  Terry is also moved by Japanese Zen minimalism and the understanding of less as more, positive and negative space, and the impact of a single object in stillness.  Finally, he feels a profound spiritual cord to Aboriginal culture and art. He experiences this ancient lineage of art in his own process and commitment to being a steward of life, and exploring the space of the Dreamtime and walking between worlds.

Terry has held a strong presence in the Brooklyn art scene, with shows ranging from group shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; “Brooklyn State of Mind”; multiple shows with the South of the Navy Yard Artists Association; Clinton Hill Arts Festival; Kentler International Drawing Space; Urban Glass; and Brooklyn’s Borough Hall. He had a large one man show at Ramnarine Gallery in Long Island City and has shown at New York City’s Affordable Art Show for multiple years. Terry was co-director and co-curator of two Brooklyn shows with fellow artist Anders Knutsson.

Terry splits his time between Laguna Beach, CA and Harlem.

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