Guest Curator
A Welcome Perspective: Architect & Designer Laurel Consuelo Broughton Guest Curates A Collection of Art
We’re thrilled to have Los Angeles-based architect and designer Laurel Consuelo Broughton of WELCOME PROJECTS guest curating an exclusive collection of art as part of our ongoing Guest Curator series. Read on to discover the role art plays in her life, first piece of art she bought, the artist she’d most like to meet, and the last great exhibition she attended.
(Image: Laurel Consuelo Broughton)
Trained as an architect at SCI-arc, native Angeleno Laurel Consuelo Broughton explores her interests in narrative, material culture, craft, and style within the realms of fashion, design, and architecture through projects, publications, and collaborations at a multiplicity of scales. In addition to teaching design at the USC School of Architecture, Laurel directs the studio WELCOMEPROJECTS and designs an accessories line called WELCOMECOMPANIONS,
Described as “a collection of objects and accessories for everyday play,” Welcome Companions is at the intersection of narrative between fashion, interiors, architecture and design. Welcome Companions’ summer collection “Navy Yard” is an assortment of playful objects inspired by square forms and animal shapes, which debuted in a whimsical stop-motion film titled “The Navy Yard Shuffle”. This fall, Welcome Companions is set to debut a 10-piece collection of bags entitled “Jungle Book” inspired by the paintings of Henri Rousseau, which will be celebrated in a follow-up stop motion film directed from inside a puppet theater with an original score. Stay tuned – this film premieres August 30th!
Laurel has collaborated with artist and filmmaker Miranda July on the exclusive “Classics” collection for Welcome Companions, which will launch in November and include various shoulder bags, satchels, clutches and totes. Explore her inspirations and designs below and check out her specially-curated collection of art on Saatchi Online!
Laurel Consuelo Brought with her “Toast” shoulder bag from Welcome Companion’s “Part-Time Picnic” collection (Image: Laurel Consuelo Broughton)
Laurel Consuelo Broughton
Founder & Director, WELCOMEPROJECTS
What was the first piece of art you bought?
An artist’s book from Printed Matter in New York with a packet of homemade stickers that said “Outlaw” on them.
How would you describe your taste in art? What are you most drawn to?
I’m drawn to ideas. Anything can look nice but not everything can be smart and interesting.
Laurel wearing Welcome Companions’ cat ears barrette from the Navy Yard collection (Image: Laurel Consuelo Broughton)
What role does art play in your life?
Art plays a huge role in my role in my life and practice. It’s a way of accessing subtle information about the world.
What do you collect?
I collect the artwork of friends and I also like to start collections of objects but then get distracted and never really collect anything…
A preview of Welcome Companions’ Jungle Book collection inspired by the paintings of Henri Rousseau (Image: Laurel Consuelo Broughton)
How would you describe your personal style?
House Cat.
Which artist would you most like to meet?
Marcel Duchamp.
What books are on your bedside table?
My bedside table tends to be a repository for books since my shelves are completely filled. A sample of the stack is: a John Baldessari monograph, Tender Shoots by Colette, Our Aesthetic Categories by Sianne Ngai, The Chairs Are Where The People Go by Shelia Heti and Misha Glouberman, Americans in Paris: An Anthology of Letters by American Literati from Paris edited by Adam Gopnik, and The Absence of Myth by Georges Bataille.
Laurel holding the Tortoise handbag from the Navy Yard collection (Image: Laurel Consuelo Broughton)
What was the last great exhibition you attended?
An Urs Fischer exhibition at the MOCA Geffen called “Yes.” I’m not sure how to read it but it was just such an exuberant explosion of clay. I’m really looking forward to the James Turrell retrospective at LACMA.
Do you have a favorite museum or gallery?
I love house museums. One of my favorites is The Merchant House Museum in New York City on East Fourth Street. There is something wonderfully forgotten about it…
If you could paint, draw, sculpt, photograph, etc., which skill would you most like to posses?
I would most definitely like to be able to sing!
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