Emerging Artists Part One
Spring Thesis Exhibitions from Claremont Graduate University
Spring is thesis exhibition time at most graduate art programs and the month of April at CGU brings about a weekly rotation of artist work as they complete their two year journey for their masters degrees. I shared about my show in January: Haunted Beauty and today I want to showcase three of my cohort, so that you can see first hand the next generation of emerging artists in Los Angeles. This is Part One of the Series.
Alicia is a French artist that works primarily in paintings, sculpture and installation. Her work is concerned with fragility and impermanence and her body is “inseparable” from her work. As a woman grappling with a change in “physical condition” she seeks to share not only the French creed: “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” but to change the word Fraternité with Fragilité in order to superimpose her own physical limitations. I have watched Alicia’s work change over the past several years and have shared in the process of creating these works during our installation courses. Her work is sensitive yet strong, bold and resilient and it has been an honor to share in her growth as an artist.
Darby was my studio neighbor and came into the program mid-way through my first year. Her work uses bold colors and strong abstract statements on canvas which eventually evolved into sculptural threaded paintings.
In my hands, each piece of fabric becomes a living metaphor for the human journey, and for me, a generational one: pliable, marked by time, resilient, and ever open to transformation.
These pieces remind me of generational sewing within my own history with my grandmother and my aunt and days spent mending clothing, sharing how to thread a needle, use a sewing machine and create with your hands. There is a deep sensitivity to honoring the women that came before and continuing your own journey as an artist.
Courtney’s work has always intrigued me. Her interest in “light, space and color relationships” are something that I understand within my own work. There is a deep sense of how color and light are seen visually and how that changes based upon the location of the viewer. Originally from New Jersey, Courtney speaks to the industrial views outside her train window going into Manhattan, and riding her bike to Seal Beach here in Los Angeles. She is concerned with pollution and the heavy industrial presence in her environment. Understanding how light interacts with this pollution is the basis of her paintings. Each piece is either on canvas or linen and the oil paint is diluted to a point where they seem to evaporate as part of the painting. The painting is alive in its own special way and encourages the viewer to keep looking for how and where the color changes and merges.
Three artists, three distinct practices but all concerned with how the world around them affects their daily lives. I have linked to each of their instagram profiles, please take a moment to follow each artist if their work speaks to you. Working towards your masters in fine art is both a grueling and rewarding path. Its long hours, intense but valuable critique, and a special connection builds within your cohort. The appreciation and general deep respect for the work and especially for who they are as humans is unsurpassed.