Deana Lawson

photographer

American b. 1979, Rochester, New York^[1] active 2004–present

Deana Lawson is an American artist and photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her B.F.A. from Pennsylvania State University and her M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2004. Her work is primarily concerned with intimacy, family, spirituality, sexuality, and Black aesthetics. Lawson's photography is known for its meticulous staging, intimate composition, and attention to black cultural symbols, often transforming everyday domestic spaces into theatrical environments. She has been recognized as a significant artist of her generation, receiving prestigious awards including the Hugo Boss Prize in 2020 and the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2022.

• African diaspora
• Black aesthetics
• intimacy
• spirituality
• domesticity