Beneath the Surface — An Exhibition by Abby Lazerow Phoenix, Oregon | Langford Art Gallery | October 3 – November 1, 2025
The exhibition Beneath the Surface by Ashland artist Abby Lazerow delves into the hidden layers of contemporary life. Lazerow uses multi-layers in her oil paintings to communicate how memory, history, and mythology intertwine with the present. The artworks move between realism, expressionism, and abstraction, guided by color and light, to reveal and conceal.
Human connection is central to the exhibition, particularly romantic couples, highlighting themes of tenderness, tension, perseverance, grief, and power dynamics. Additionally, Lazerow addresses broader societal issues: social divisions, systemic injustice, protest, and the longing for reconciliation and healing.
Lazerow aims to create space for ambiguity and transformation, suggesting that beauty and despair can coexist and that renewal is possible. Rather than seeking resolution, Beneath the Surface offers a space for reflection and transformation. Lazerow asks what it means to live fully in a world where beauty and despair coexist, while also pointing toward renewal.
“In this exhibition, I have included paintings that explore the subtle and complex layers of contemporary life. Many of the works are created in layers, some painted over older pieces, with traces of earlier images emerging. This process mirrors how we can view life on a surface level and then over time, deeper stories, truths, symbolism and secret histories can gradually be uncovered,” said Lazerow.
Lazerow lives with her family on a small farm in Ashland where she paints in her studio and raises sheep, fruits and vegetables. Before moving to southern Oregon, she was a museum educator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, an art instructor at UCLA and USC, and a California Arts Council artist in residence.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 09.16.2025 Artist ABBY LAZEROW
Exhibition Beneath the Surface
Lazerow also designed stage sets for theaters in Los Angeles and in Ashland. In Oregon, she has exhibited her work at Davis and Cline Gallery, the Elisabeth Jones Art Center, the Rogue Art Gallery, and the Newport Visual Arts Center, as well as the Schneider Museum of Art and the Grants Pass Art Museum.
Exhibition Details
October 3 | 5:00 PM – Artist Reception
October 10 | 5:00 PM – City-Wide Second Phriday (Phoenix Art Walk)
October 12 | 4:00 PM – Artist Talk with Abby Lazerow
October 25 | 5:00 PM – Community Building Presentation with Building Bridgers and Marla Estes
The October 25 event marks the 7th presentation in a 10-part community-based series hosted by Langford Gallery, focused on strengthening human connection and building bridges among divides within our region.