7 Jewel-Encrusted Sculptures That Are Sacred Symbols Of The Universe

Born in Portland, Maine and currently residing there, Lauren Fensterstock is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design and a 2016 United States Artist Fellow. Her portfolio boasts over six galleries where her work has been exhibited over the years and numerous museums where her work is available in public collections.

#1 I Arrange the Stars, 2024

Vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media.

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

#2 Tenderly Willing (Detail), 2024

 

Vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media. 

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

These exploding celestial objects, Lauren claims, are not just ornamental, saying, “I see my work as jewellery but not to adorn the body, but rather augment the soul. I invite viewers to pause and reflect on their place within a collective experience and embrace their perceived imperfections—acknowledging that our differences, flaws, and struggles are what make us uniquely human.”

#3 I Arrange the Stars, 2024

Vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media.

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

#4 I Arrange the Stars (Detail), 2024

Vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media.

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

Lauren’s latest designs are inspired by the South Asian religious and artistic practices of creating mandalas, sacred symbols of the universe and transforming these emblems into elaborate, jewel-like creations. Her intimate work is a response to, “the current climate of political polarization and social upheaval”, and she desires to “create works that offer moments of reflection and inner peace. Believing that each person can be an agent for positive change—within themselves, their community, and the greater universe—she uses her devout meditation practice as an entry point for these new works.”

#5 She is Refuge, 2024 

Vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media.

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

#6 The Undiluted (fifth chakra)(Detail), 2023

Quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, vintage crystal, glass, and mixed media. 

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

Lauren further identifies each piece as a harmonious assemblage of repurposed treasures, “coming together to form wild lotus flowers, exploding planets, stars, and suns.” She adds that she “transforms these disparate elements into iconic yet malleable symbols of growth, scaling them into intimate offerings. Her lotuses burst, curl, crackle, and shatter; in one, her natal constellations are mapped into

glistening, starlike gems, while in another, the flower’s bulb takes the shape of a swirling, cavernous black hole”.

#7 The Intimate Vast, 2024 

Vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media.

*Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery

Speaking about her upcoming exhibitions, Lauren hopes that, “In a culture that often emphasizes isolation and individualism, [my] work will remind viewers of the intimate flickers of connection that, together, form brilliant beams of light.”

*All images published with the permission of Claire Oliver Gallery