Forage | Gather
Exhibition dates: October 21 – December 9, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 21 | 5:00PM – 7:00PM
The five sculptors featured in this exhibition engage in the act of foraging as a means of connecting with their surroundings. Whether it involves rummaging through a trash can, exploring a hardware store, visiting a craft shop, or simply observing the side of the road, these artists perceive the potential for artistic expression in unexpected places.
Sometimes the artists are treasure hunters, actively seeking out a material with strong cultural associations; other times a material may unexpectedly appear right on the doorstep inviting one to succumb to serendipity. Integral to the practice of all these artists is the ability to respond and create work based on the found material’s potential. This process requires a resourcefulness and openness to the unknown. The artists in the exhibition cut, sew, paint, glue and wrap in order to explore a material’s possibilities.
It may be no accident that the sculptors all tend to reference biological forms, which reflects the organic and random nature of finding and experimenting.
A catalog accompanying the show will be released on December 2nd, alongside an artist walkthrough.
Forage | Gather is organized by FOCA Curators Lab recipient Carolyn Mason.
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Carolyn Mason received a BA degree from Smith College and an MFA degree from Mills College. She has exhibited at Torrance Art Museum, Tufenkian Fine Arts, Mt. St. Mary’s University, and Loyola Marymount University as well as in a solo exhibition at Winslow Garage (all Los Angeles, CA). Mason has been awarded residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and at Nocefresca in Italy. Prior to receiving the Fellows for Contemporary Arts (FOCA) Curator’s Lab, she curated an exhibition at the Torrance Art Museum. Mason is a member of the Los Angeles artist collective Durden and Ray.
Claire Chambless received a BA from Davidson College and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts. Recent exhibitions include: Sargent’s Daughters (Los Angeles); MAK Center for Art & Architecture Mackey Apartments (Los Angeles); Oolong Gallery (San Diego); Office Space Gallery (Los Angeles); The End (Atlanta); Flux Factory (New York); La MaMa Gallery (New York); the New Wight Biennial at UCLA (Los Angeles) and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (Atlanta). She has been supported by the City of Atlanta, Fulton County Arts and Culture Council, Walthall Fellowship, and the Lillian Disney Scholarship.
Chenhung Chen, born in Taiwan, received a BA from the Chinese Cultural University, Taipei, and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has had solo exhibitions at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History and at LAX Terminal 7. Her work has also been exhibited at PS 1, Hwa Kang Museum (Taipei), UVU Woodbury Art Museum, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego Art Institute, Kellogg University Art Gallery, Grafiska Sallskapet Galleri (Stockholm), Childrens’ Museum of Arts (New York), Walter Maciel, Roberts Projects, and Galleria Rankka (Helsinki), among others.
Gina Herrera received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Herrera has exhibited at the Lancaster Art Museum, the Oceanside Art Museum, the Marin Art Museum and the Chicago Cultural Center. In addition, she has received fellowships, grants and residencies including from The Harpo Foundation/Vermont Studio Center, Virginia Center for the Arts, Hambidge Center, Ox-Bow, Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation, Puffin Foundation, and The Demil Art Fund. In 2023, she was a National Endowment for the Humanities Veteran Fellow.
Victoria May received a BA from UCLA and an MFA from San Jose State University. May has exhibited nationally and internationally including at the Monterey Museum of Art, the Minnesota Street Project, the Headlands Center for the Arts, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, the Maloof Foundation, Craft Contemporary, and Quotidian. She has been awarded residencies at Kala in Berkeley, the Lucid Art Foundation in Inverness, the Camera Obscura Art Lab in Santa Monica as well as Jentel Arts in Wyoming. She received a Santa Cruz County Rydell Fellowship and was named a Silicon Valley Artist Laureate.
CURATOR BIO:
Carolyn Mason received a BA degree from Smith College and an MFA degree from Mills College. She has exhibited at Torrance Art Museum, Tufenkian Fine Arts, Mt. St. Mary’s University, and Loyola Marymount University as well as in a solo exhibition at Winslow Garage (all Los Angeles, CA). Mason has been awarded residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and at Nocefresca in Italy. Prior to receiving the Fellows for Contemporary Arts (FOCA) Curator’s Lab, she curated an exhibition at the Torrance Art Museum. Mason is a member of the Los Angeles artist collective Durden and Ray.
