Western spectacles and sparkling flair: Lauren Young expresses playful visions through Abstruse Art
Oct. 17, 2025
Photo credit: Abstruse Art
Through her creative studio Abstruse Art, sculpture artist Lauren Young’s work brings a Western-meets-retro style and glittering, atmospheric fun to festivals, events and attractions across the country.
From shiny disco-honoring displays to handmade bolo ties, the Denver artist has explored a range of ideas, mediums and subjects with one thing in common: a focus on visual playfulness.
Young’s sparkling style and studio story
The COVID-19 pandemic and a move to Colorado played significant roles in how Young’s style developed.
Since she began exploring the state’s natural areas, Young said she has taken endless inspiration from their features, noting that their colors and emotional symbolism were foundational in her early work.
“I moved to Colorado about a decade ago and fell in love with the resilience of the desert. A lot of my early designs pulled directly from the colors and tones I noticed while hiking and spending time outside,” Young said.
Approximately five years later, Young started painting during the pandemic; she said she worked with disco symbols, blending ‘70s style highlights with “’90s bowling alley-inspired graphics.”
Photo credit: Abstruse Art
While her style today contains elements from several phases of her art journey, her explanation of it prominently features Western fashion influences.
“I like to describe my style as, ‘if cowgirls won the West instead of cowboys’ — blending traditional Western patterns and designs with a playful, feminine edge,” she said.
She pairs these elements with glasswork and mirror tiles that aid in shifting viewer perspectives.
“I work with glass and mirror designs because they’re equal parts pretty and accessible for all ages, while also carrying a deeper metaphor. I love creating stationary disco pieces that encourage people to move around them, shift their perspective and see new reflections. To me, life isn’t meant to be viewed from just one vantage point,” Young said.
When it was time to name her studio, Young wanted something to match the tone and style influences she incorporates into her work.
“I wanted something that captured the mystery and curiosity behind my work. ‘Abstruse’ means something that’s not immediately understood— and that felt perfect. My pieces take familiar things, like animals or everyday objects, and transform them into something unexpected, sparkly and surreal,” Young said.
Young’s origin was full of experimentation to find what she valued stylistically. She encourages up-and-coming artists to do the same, without seeking the perfect conditions first or being nervous about their creative liberties.
“Don’t be afraid to make weird things either — the projects that feel a little risky or silly are often the ones that connect the most,” Young said.
Reflecting on career points and pieces
Over the course of her career, Young has designed more than 200 pieces, including an E.T. sculpture-turned disco ball and a 16-foot spider named Charlotte. She also creates themed activations for events, like flower-forward sculptures and neon cowgirl scenes.
Photo credit: Abstruse Art
Most of her installations appear at festivals, like Coachella and Burning Man. She noted that one of her large-scale pieces in progress is headed to next year’s Houston Rodeo.
“My biggest upcoming installation is an 8-foot Disco Chicken that I’ll be unveiling at the Houston Rodeo in 2026,” Young said.
Young’s disco animals even sparkle within the pages of “Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Seek the Strange,” which she described as a “surreal honor.”
“I grew up flipping through those books, so to see my work included alongside all these other strange and wonderful things felt like a full-circle moment,” she said.
Young’s work isn’t just displayed out of state or in private collections; it can be found all over Denver.
Through October, a celestial installation of hers can be viewed in the Poka Lola Social Club, which she named the “Poka Luna install” in a recent Instagram post. She will also have a large installation up at Dairy Block’s Disco Mystique event on Oct. 26.
Young has also created a boot-shaped disco ball for Denver-based country bar and restaurant Belles & Boots.
She said one of her favorite public installations was a recent local collective piece titled “Bananas For You.” It featured oversized fruit sculptures to represent each color of the rainbow.
Photo credit: Abstruse Art
“It was a whimsical play on a world where real things are reimagined in bold and unexpected ways — much like how I try to live my life! Stay playful, surprise and delight in all that you do,” Young said.
For Young, these whimsical ideas start with examining something she considers an everyday object. Once she figures out how to transform them into something playful, she begins sketching and mapping.
When she gets to the sculpted foundations, Young said she uses 3D printing to give her pieces more detail and strength, before adding mirror tiles and other stylistic bits of flair.
“Depending on the size of the piece and the logistics for transport, I’ll incorporate hybrid forms — using 3D-printed features for detail and large, hand-sculpted forms for scale,” she said.
While she is already working on large-scale projects for nationwide brands, Young hopes to keep creating bigger pieces that challenge her, showcase more public work and collaborate with cultural institutions.
Young also noted she has one evergreen goal that comes before all others: giving the people who view her work a chance to experience more whimsy in their days.
“At the heart of everything I make is play — I want people to feel delight, curiosity and maybe even a little surprise when they encounter my work,” she said.
Where business meets playfulness
Young’s work doesn’t stop at disco installations and nature sculptures; she operates an online store, takes custom orders, and interacts with local communities.
Customers can browse her collection of disco sculptures on her website, which includes animals and symbols from Western and pop culture, like the Polly Pocket logo.
Young also makes and sells wearable pieces in her shop, primarily bolo pieces that feature sunny side up egg charms, Labubu charms with pool ball bolo embellishments, and more.
Photo credit: Abstruse Art
Those interested can commission Young to bring their disco and bolo visions a reality. She has worked on requests for disco sharks, zebras, and custom mirror tile pet portraits, among other projects.
She also mentioned that she welcomes requests for personalized bolo ties.
“My bolo ties are some of my favorite small-scale pieces to customize. I can tailor them to different shapes, colors or themes — everything from classic Western motifs to totally unexpected designs with a disco twist,” she said.
Young also offers event rentals and temporary displays, and those interested can request a piece in her inventory or a custom rental commission that will go into her inventory after the event. More information about renting pieces can be found on the Abstruse website.
Brands can get in touch with her to arrange activations for a range of corporate events.
Young shared that anyone looking to take on creative work should treat it like a business, which means establishing their boundaries and placing value on their time. She also recommends that creatives take their time and prioritize consistent learning.
Those who want to connect with Young and learn more about her artistic processes can find her at local events and hosting workshops in Denver. She will host an Over the Moon Disco Workshop on Oct. 19, where attendees can learn to make a disco moon.
The event takes place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Poka Lola Social Club, and tickets cost $65. More information is available here.
More information on Young’s work, event announcements and inquiry forms can be found on the Abstruse website. Those interested can also follow Young on Instagram.
