The Awards Collective was created to feature the works of artists who have received either a Juror’s Award or Director’s Award in ASG’s Online exhibitions.  Laurie Peek’s image For Austin received the Juror’s Award in the open | unleashed exhibition juried by Darren Ching.  Laurie’s exhibition GINKGO is discussed in this GalleryTalk.

Artist Statement

“Long revered in East Asian culture as a symbol of resilience, longevity, and wisdom, the Ginkgo tree’s ability to persist and survive extremely adverse conditions, including the bombing of Hiroshima, inspires me to believe in self-renewal even in the face of personal tragedy.

These images, which all feature ginkgo leaves, are part of my ongoing series of photographs dedicated to my son and all those who’ve lost a loved one. By naming each image for a departed individual, I honor them and keep their memory alive with a tangible tribute.

As part of my process, in addition to compositing lens-based photos of plants (mostly from my garden), I incorporate various alternative processes including cyanotypes, anthotypes, and lumens. After printing the images on semi-translucent vellum, I then gild the backs of the images with silver- or gold-toned metallic leaf and varnish both sides, giving the prints a metallic sheen reminiscent of sacred art.

With this memorializing project I bring together my long-time fascination with layers, abstraction, ambiguity and the natural world. Making this work has been healing for me and is meant to help heal others.”

Laurie Peek
February, 2026

Bio

Laurie Peek is an award-winning visual artist who’s been a photo-journalist, educator, librarian and fine artist. With an MFA in Photography from the Visual Studies Workshop (Rochester, NY), as well as positions at the George Eastman Museum and The Arts Students League, in recent years she’s been exhibiting her images widely in the US and internationally. She’s been a 2023 Critical Mass Top 200, Finalist in Klompching Gallery’s 2024 Fresh and twice been recognized as an International Garden Photographer of the Year, sponsored by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.

Peek’s work is in the collections of: Fine Art Museum of Houston, Paterson Museum (NJ), Center for Photography at Woodstock (Kingston, NY), Center (Santa Fe, NM), and Visual Studies Workshop (Rochester, NY) as well as the private collections of Paula Tognarelli and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

website:  lauriepeek.com

instagram: @lauriepeek

link to online exhibition