The artist studied painting at Pratt Institute of Art and Design in Brooklyn, New York from 1976-1980, receiving her BFA in 1980.
Padgett explores sites of historical and cultural importance through a variety of media, including film, photography, and text.
By combining her creative process with research to gather historic knowledge, Padgett makes work that reveals the essence of a place while simultaneously presenting a subjective, contemporary perspective.
Her work frequently exposes the tension between the enduring influence of history on the present and our attempts to alter, conceal or forget the past.
[5][6] Since 1991, Laura J. Padgett’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions[7] in Germany[8][9] and throughout Europe.
[14][15] Between 2010 and 2012 Padgett followed the new construction and renovation of the Städel Museum resulting in the publication Raum über Zeit – Space over Time (2012).
[22] Padgett’s films have been screened internationally at venues like the Media City Film Festival, Detroit,[23] Cité Paris,[24] House of World Cultures, Berlin,[25] Pharos Centre for Contemporary Art in Nicosia,[26] the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Mousonturm[27] in Frankfurt am Main, Cineteca di Bologna, Künstlerhaus Kino in Vienna, Viper Filmfestival in Bern, Kunsthalle Erfurt and at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen.