Photo created by Shelly Simon & Jane Feldman
About
Jo Lauria is a Los Angeles-based curator, writer, and educator who received curatorial training at The Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She is a specialist in the fields of design, craft, and decorative arts, with particular emphasis on objects and environments that define the California lifestyle and culture. Lauria lives by the “golden rule” set forth by William Morris, the 19th century British Arts and Crafts artist and social activist:
“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”
Lauria is the organizer of several national touring exhibitions as well as author of numerous publications, including biographies charting the lives and work of contemporary designers and craft artists, and survey books chronicling major movements in the art/craft/design fields. Most recently she received the 2016 American Ceramic Circle Book Award for Ralph Bacerra: Exquisite Beauty. Currently she is coauthoring a comprehensive text on William F. Cody, visionary 20th century American architect and developing major survey exhibitions for contemporary ceramic and fiber artists.