Denise Laurin is a realist artist whose work centers around the portrait and the human form. Often, she uses the dancer to express the universal movement from darkness into light and the physical into the non-material. So that her interpretation would emanate from personal understanding, Denise studied dance throughout her life. She works in oil, pastel, graphite and charcoal, metal leaf and collage.
She has exhibited widely, including The Fine Arts Building, the Chicago Cultural Center, Triangle Gallery and other regional locations. Between 2009-2014, she lived in New York City, where she led a group show under the auspices of MoMA and the Northern Manhattan Artists Alliance. There she taught art at The Beekman School, a private Manhattan high school.
She continued to pursue technical skills and studied painting at the New York Academy of Art with figurative artist Peter Cox and drawing independently with renowned portrait artist David Kassan. In Chicago she studied with Grace Cole.
Denise holds a B.A. in studio art and an M.A. in art history from Northern Illinois University. Before launching her fine art career, Denise owned a graphic design firm and was named Woman of the Year by Women in Design/Chicago.
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www.deniselaurinvisualart.com 
​www.livingcreatively.info