Lara Allen’s work has its roots in experimental music when at the age of 18, she dropped out of high school and formed the band Manwich in Cincinnati. Later she moved to San Francisco where she played and recorded with numerous bands including Heavenly Ten Stems, Secret Chiefs 3, Caroliner Rainbow, and Ragtime Germs. During that time she developed a visual art practice that resulted in receiving an MFA  in painting from Yale — where her work took on dimensions of text, performance and painting. Shows include the Museo de Bellas Artes Cuba for the Havana Biennial, Queens Museum, NY, CAC in Cincinnati, MOCA Cleveland, San Francisco City Hall, Eastern State Penitentiary, Brooklyn Museum, and SFMOMA.