Otero-Pailos Studio

Jorge Otero-Pailos is an artist, architect and scholar who practices experimental preservation to upend old ideas about cultural heritage. Combining his formal training in architecture and preservation, he explores themes of memory, history, and transition through his artworks. He uses materials such as atmospheric dust and building fragments to reveal the complex and layered meanings of historical buildings, and he has experimented with cleaning techniques designed to restore landmarks as part of his creative process. Otero-Pailos' ongoing project, The Ethics of Dust, has received widespread acclaim for its investigation of cleaning dust and pollution residues from landmarks like Westminster Hall and the San Francisco U.S. Mint. His public installations have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Chicago Architecture Biennial, and the British Parliament, and are in the permanent museum collections of the SFMoMA, Yale Center for British Art and Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, amongst others. Otero-Pailos is a 2022 NYSCA / NYFA Artist Fellow, and the recipient of the 2021-22 American Academy in Rome Residency in the visual arts. He also serves as the Director of Historic Preservation at Columbia University, is the founding editor of Future Anterior and the author of Historic Preservation Theory, the first English-language anthology of historic preservation theory with an international perspective. He studied architecture at Cornell University and earned a doctorate in architecture at M.I.T.

Laurence Lafforgue
Studio Director

Laurence Lafforgue overseeing special projects, exhibitions and studio operations. She’s also responsible for content development and publication. She has a track record advocating for artists and fostering productive collaborations on their behalf with cultural institutions and companies, including partnering directly with artists and their galleries to create print editions. A French native, she moved to New York to run digital campaigns for large media companies and has advised art institutions such as the National Gallery of Art and Berlin-based art company Lumas/WhiteWall on their digital strategy and operations. She graduated with a master’s in business administration and new media management from Paris Dauphine University (France). Based in New York, she serves as co-chair of the New York Chapter of ArtTable, the foremost professional organization dedicated to advancing the leadership of women in the visual arts.