Tending draws its contemplative name from a focal body of work on view within the exhibition and references the small gestures or movements we make that lead us toward our individual and collective futures, while simultaneously placing reverence to the care and labor afforded in this process. 

Much of this body of work finds sanctuary in evocative abstraction. Snyder conjures a visual and emotional thread of belonging linking disparate places and experiences, rooted in an acute awareness of the signs and symbols found in our physical environment that influence the movements of our minds and bodies. Sourcing natural pigments from her surroundings, Snyder holds intention to their historical significance and intrinsic reference to place. Of this, Snyder writes: 

“Mark-making in my work carries the memory of the movement of my hand across the page or panel, the lines shifting from dark to light as the paintbrush leaves its trace. Bright or contrasting colors on grounds of earth pigment serve as beacons or signs and punctuate the continuous rhythmic flow…”

Components of this recent body of work employ reference to map-making, charts of ocean currents, and a guide to weather symbols used for maritime navigation. Snyder points to the history of cartography and counter cartographies, and asks how moving through spaces or knowing places changes the traveler. In her Traveling Drawing series, Snyder engages in meditative mirroring of line after line, unifying two sides of a drawing. The marriage of these once distinct movements speak to the Surrealist notion of a ‘third mind’ or a ‘third memory,’ created in the space between an event and its retelling.

Laura Josephine Snyder and Kristen Finn
Tending (Process, 4), 2018