48 Pillars 2024

Welcome to interactive presentation, created with Publuu. Enjoy the reading!

February 24 - April 6, 2024

Catalog design: Michael Yochum

Logo design: Priscilla Otani

Arc Gallery © 2024

48 Pillars was inspired by a chance encounter at Flax with a close-out sale of deep

vertical panels, 48” x 12” x 1 5/8”. 24 local Bay Area artists will produce two pieces each

on these identically-sized panels that will exactly ring the gallery – 48 works total.

This is the 9th Annual iteration of this exhibition at Arc Gallery. Along with our iconic

FourSquared exhibition, this is essentially an exercise in "structural constraint". In both

exhibitions, the artists are unconstrained in subject matter except to the extent that

works need to be a series; but they are constrained in format. One might expect that

constraining format would constrain creativity. Our experience has been the opposite -

creativity has been unleashed. The results have been visually stunning.

Michael Yochum, Curator

Exhibition Statement

OPENING RECEPTION:

Saturday, February 24th, 7-9pm

ARTIST TALK & CLOSING RECEPTION:

Saturday, April 6th, 12-3pm

Participating Artists

Kathryn Arnold

Richard Bolingbroke

Stacey Carter

Jennifer Ewing

Carolyn Ferris

Annie Galvin

Howard Hersh

Uma Rani Iyli

Ivy Jacobsen

Julia LaChica

Katja Leibenath

Lisa Levine

Fernanda Martinez

Nance Miller

Leila Noorani

Yari Ostovany

Namita Paul

Eric Rewitzer

Wendy Robushi

Sawyer Rose

Michael Shemchuk

Stephanie Steiner

Paula Valenzuela

Fumiyo Yoshikawa

Kathryn Arnold

website: artistkathrynarnold.com

IG:

@kathrynarnoldartist

A Tapestry of Fragile Bloom

Each spring, my soul echoes with the vibrant pulse of poppy

fields. They rise in a riot of color, knee-high and exuberant,

forming tapestries woven by the wind. More than beauty, it's

a profound connection, a reminder of humanity's vital thread

in nature's grand loom. Yet, a shadow stirs in my mind. What

becomes of this tapestry in the face of escalating heat and

parched earth?

These pillars are not just paintings on wood panels; they are

elegies and prophecies. The first, a sun-drenched field of

vibrant oranges, pulsates with the joyous vitality of poppies in their prime. The second, a panel of muted

greens and veiled textures, speaks of a future where drought has cast its long shadow. These are not

mere artistic exercises; they are urgent conversations about the pillars of our well-being – color, light, and

the life-giving force of plants.

Kathryn Arnold, artist, stands on this threshold, where artistic traditions of color field abstraction meet the

stark reality of environmental change. These pillars are not mere abstractions; they are doorways, urging

us to contemplate the vibrant present and the uncertain future of our shared canvas. Let us remember

the poppies, not just for their fleeting beauty, but for the profound connection they weave between nature

and our very being.

oil on gessoed wood panels

48" x 12" each

$2,500 each, $4,000 diptych

A Tapestry of Fragile Bloom

Richard Bolingbroke

website: rbolingbroke.com

IG:

@richardbolingbroke

These urban abstractions are inspired by the patterns, rhythms

and structures I see all around me walking around San Francisco.

The old weathered stipple, the ridged metal siding, and the fancy

marble facade contain a rich and detailed narrative that is the

essence of life.Their beauty is in their simplicity, and their power

is in their ability to create a cosmos. The smallest part, the

fragment, the microcosm, contains many stories about the

incomprehensible vastness in which we live.

To quote Hermetic Philosophy "As within, so without, as above,

so below, as the universe, so the soul."

mixed media on etched wood panels

48" x 12" each

$2,800 each; $4,500 diptych

Surfaces 34 & 35

Stacey Carter

website: www.staceycarter.net

IG:

@stacey_carter_art

My artwork serves as a visual documentation of the urban

environment that surrounds us. I create multimedia

compositions by blending photographs, whether they are my

own or from historical sources, with a combination of skilled

printmaking techniques and loose, expressionistic hand

painting. These layered and compositionally rich works

serve as a study of how personal experiences shape our

surroundings. They also pay homage to what has transpired

in the past and its significance in our present. Through my

creative process, I breathe new life into photographic images,

effectively "freezing time" and providing a platform for

individual histories to be revisited and shared once more.

The piece I created for 48 Pillars is part of an ongoing project

centered around the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, where my studio is located.

My curiosity about the surrounding old shipyard buildings I was painting led to independent historical

research, unveiling a fascinating, lesser-known history of the shipyard & the pivotal role the site played in

events that helped change the course of global history. This research has continued to inform my work,

resulting in a long-term, multi-faceted visual documentary art & history project I have been engaged with

for the past 20 years.

The painting, Turning the Shell Plate, portrays a crane-held adjustable turning jig lifting an aluminum

shell plate for the USS Mahan, a new Navy ship constructed at the Hunters Point Shipyard in 1957. This

custom jig, meticulously crafted by the skilled workers of Rigging Shop 72, was designed for the precise

lifting and rotation of aluminum deck-house sections during the fabrication & construction of US Navy

ships.

Ink, pigment and acrylic on wood panels

48" x 12" each

$2,500 diptych

Turning the Shell Plate, 1958

Jennifer Ewing

website: www.jenniferewing.com

IG:

@jnnewing

In creating this pair of pillars, I found support in my

favorite symbols, the spirit boat and the ladder. I played in

the spaces between these two. Within the strong vertical

panels, I found a tall story to tell.

Both ladders and boats have served us since ancient

days when we wanted and needed to travel in new

directions and make new connections. They also hold

powerful spiritual associations. The boats go across

watery spaces and ladders give us a means to venture

up or down. Both are a kind of bridge to somewhere else.

Worldwide cultures across time have recognized them

and included them in their art.

It was satisfying for me to combine these two so that each of their own unique qualities is expanded

by the other in a dynamic exchange. The interplay between this duo of symbols is heightened by a

monumental format.

The larger theme of my work is movement and fluctuation. I like to present varying degrees of time, color,

light, texture and power of presence. The idea of continual change inspires me for here I feel alive and

artistically challenged. In my paintings I offer an opportunity to explore universal forces found within

them. I think of the tides going in and out, of a feather rising in the air then returning to settle on the

ground, and clouds gathering water then delivering rain to us. These continual cycles guide our existence

and help us feel more alive when we notice them.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52

Made with Publuu - flipbook maker