Tori Tinsley and Lauren Pallotta Stumberg Receive Atlanta Emerging Artist Award

Tori Tinsley (BFA 2003) and Lauren Pallotta Stumberg (BFA 2003) both received The City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs 2017 Emerging Artist Award. As a result, their work is featured in an exhibition on display through April 12 at Chastain Arts Center Gallery (135 West Wieuca Rd NW Atlanta, GA 30342). 

Tinsley’s paintings explore her changing relationship with herself and her mother as she succumbs to a brain disease called fronto-temporal degeneration. Through the interaction of two figures, she conveys the challenging emotional experience of ambiguous loss. These works not only serve as premature memorials to her mother, but also stand as monuments to resilience and highlight how painting can serve as a proxy for reconnection.

Pallotta Stumberg is an artist, designer, traveler and educator. She is enchanted with symbols and language and their impacts on culture and gender. Her experiences in the Marshall Islands, Sicily, and Atlanta have inspired an investigation into how people navigate their personal journeys — using language, symbols, and images — and arrive at a destination. Her current body of work combines portraiture with abstracted objects that represent transition, vulnerability and displacement.