Jackson Junge Gallery
1389 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
Jackson Junge Gallery is delighted to announce Lingering Stardust, a solo exhibition featuring paintings by guest artist Laura Haberer. Haberer's body of work will highlight Chicago interiors, celebrating the humans that design them, visit them, and live within them.
We're all made of stardust at our most component parts. Interior spaces are remnants of our human existence. As intimate as a living room, as collected as an antique shop, as buzzing as a coffee shop or as awe inspiring as somewhere grander. It's the lingering stardust, the humanity that stays in a space even when no one is there. That's what Haberer captures.
Opening Reception: Friday, October 2, 2026
My journey to painting started in 2020 during Covid. On a cross-country trip with my mother on our way to visit my siblings and young nephews, I looked up at a gorgeous open sky with clouds pink and purple, the sky with a soft, almost green warmth as the sun started to set. Out of the blue, my mind gave me a rather unusual thought, "I wish I could paint that." I had never seen myself as a creative, hadn't loved to draw as a child or anything of the sort. So, you could imagine that this thought caught me quite off guard.
Over the next couple of weeks, I couldn't quite get that thought that I really wanted to paint something out of my mind. Hesitantly, I decided to go for it. After some brief online research, I bought a single canvas and tiny set of oil paints, some cheap brushes, and set up a spot in my bedroom and tried to paint a scene from a backpacking trip years ago. And so began my journey.
I threw myself into learning the fundamentals of representational art-making, pouring over books for hours at a time, scouring the internet for information, and making a lot of bad art. As they say, you can't be afraid to make bad art. The rest is history. Finding art and a creative process has changed me at my core.
While I have explored a lot of different subject matter the last few years, right now I am very taken with exploring interiors, figures and portraits. I find interiors incredibly compelling and my desire to capture them feels like gravity.
In all of my work, I hope to capture the feeling of light that generates a mood and emotion in any given subject. I remain curious where my art practice will take me in the years to come. I'm happy you're here with me on this journey as it evolves because I am sure that it will. I hope that you stick around and just maybe try something new yourself. You might just find something that brings you new life as well.
Laura Haberer is a self-taught artist inspired by post-impressionism. Laura is a member of Oil Painters of America and the Palette and Chisel Fine Art Academy in Chicago. She lives with her husband, Kyle, and rescue pup, Evie.
Sign up to hear about new work, exhibitions, and studio news.
For purchases, commissions, or general inquiries.
Shipping and tax calculated at checkout