Letters to a Troubled Planet presents artist books and paintings that act as quiet messengers—poetic fragments addressed to a world in turmoil. Each work unfolds like an unreadable letter, written in an unfamiliar hand and resisting direct interpretation, yet charged with emotion and intent. The two tree paintings stand as witnesses to environmental loss and human neglect, while the recurring presence of yellow introduces a counterpoint as a signal of hope, light, and renewal. Reflecting on today’s ecological and existential crises, the exhibition also echoes humanity’s enduring effort to make sense of the world and communicate across time and silence. Together, these works form a field of unresolved messages—letters not only to a troubled planet, but also from it—inviting us to pause, to feel, and to listen more deeply.

Structure brings together the ceramic work of BAU artist Joel Brown and the encaustic work of guest artist Alaina Enslen. Brown's "ceramic arrays" reflect crazy quilts, traditional Japanese wood-firing, and his background as an architect. On a quilt, fabric swatches produce a complex texture, often embellished with embroidery. The individual components of his arrays mimic those fabric swatches; the surface cuts are the embroidery, catching the flame and ash from Brown's wood firings. For Enslen, cloth embedded in the wax carries memory within its folds, shaped by function and expectation. By fraying, pulling, and cutting fabric, she transforms it into something vital, raw, and expressive. Threads become a means of drawing, tracing the invisible lines we create, just as the cloth we wear can express identity even as it re-enforces social constraints.

Legacy poses the question: What, if anything, do artists pass down from one generation to the next through the teaching process? Certainly, every artist exists within specific moments in time, and yet art exists on a creative continuum: Rules are crafted and broken. Mentors transmit ideas, and perhaps they are conduits of their teachers before them. And, when we teach, we also gain insights from our students. Through teaching, does an artist's work become bi-directional and can we recognize creative DNA? Here, Lauro-Lazin brings together her own work with work by some of her teachers—including Alex Minewski, Judy Pfaff, and Allan Hacklin—and students, including Crystal Benitez, Sherie Weldon, Hank Bhatia, and Jake Wright.