Richard Laurent - Columbia College Chicago

Richard Laurent

Adjunct Professor of Instruction

rlaurent@colum.edu

Biography

Illustration instructor, Design Dept.                                                     

Richard has extensive experience in both the design and illustration fields; his work is included in Spectrum: Best Contemporary Fantastic Art. He has drawn for national magazines, including Outside Magazine, Business Week, American Bar Association, Washington Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Encyclopaedia Britannica among others. Currently, he is painting for a social justice fine art initiative– "The Art of Influence: Breaking Criminal Traditions." In conjunction with this organization (he is a founding member), he has spoken at conferences around the country including the 2017 National College Art Association Conference and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. He will be delivering a keynote address at the 2018 Illinois Art Educators Association Conference. His new book of political cartoons is set to be published in October, 2018 and will be the subject of various social justice discussions associated with BCT. Richard's paintings have been shown in over one hundred venues around the country, and he continues to make art in his studio at the historic Fine Arts Building in Chicago. 

Instructional Areas

Richard currently teaches in the Design Department at Columbia College– specializing in Illustration. Outside of Columbia he teaches in the fine arts, specializing in the history and practice of oil painting with a focus on European master painting.

Creative Practice and Research Interests

He currently is studying the history and practice of political cartooning as it relates to American commercial art.

Degrees

B.S., Visual Design Illinois Institute of Technology 1969
M.S., Marketing Communications Roosevelt University 1979