Cynthia Lahti (born 1963) is an American contemporary artist from Portland, Oregon, who works in many mediums: "from collage to ceramics, altered books, and painting".
"[2] Los Angeles Times reviewer Leah Ollman wrote, "Cynthia Lahti’s figures shape-shift from clay to stuffed animal, photograph or tree branch, from one form of graceful to another, or from delicate to endearingly clumsy.
"[7] Art Forum called her "a long-underrecognized artist’s artist", writing of her works in various media, "Lahti’s purposefully raw, emotionally direct objects bring to mind the accidental elegance of childhood craft projects, but here the results are fraught with disturbing nuances that make a viewer wonder: Can one feel nostalgia for pain?
"[9] The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art described her work as reflecting "a collective conscience with imagery that is deeply referential of Lathi’s own personal experience and emotions.
Her sculpture, drawings and photographs become relics made from real materials, methods and symbols that hope to offer an explanation of reality.