Lawrence Carroll, artist of humble materials and spiritual depth, dies

Lawrence Carroll, an Australian-born artist who lived in Venice and taught at IUAV, has died. Known for works made from discarded materials collected in Los Angeles peripheries, he covered assemblages with pale, oil-painted canvases stapled to wooden frames. His practice anticipated contemporary discourse on waste and reuse, transforming abandoned objects into symbols of resurrection. Carroll's influences included Mark Rothko, Robert Rauschenberg, Minimalists, and especially Giorgio Morandi. His works often incorporated objects like flowers, light bulbs, and shoes, evoking memory and Heideggerian meditation. In 2004, his first exhibition at Galleria San Fedele in Milan juxtaposed his works with a Luca Giordano painting of Saint Andrew's deposition. In 2013, two plexiglas, wood, and canvas boxes were placed in San Fedele church for Lent. He was proposed for the Vatican Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Andrea Dall'Asta, director of Galleria San Fedele and Raccolta Lercaro, wrote the tribute, recalling Carroll's charity and humility.