“That’s My Trip” Exhibition
Joshua Liner Gallery
This event has ended.
Joshua Liner Gallery presents That’s My Trip, a group show curated by gallery artist Andrew Schoultz. The exhibition features sculpture, installation, painting, and works on paper from Claire Colette, Cody Hudson, Francesco Igory Deiana, Hilary Pecis, Libby Black, Louis Schmidt, Matt Gonzalez, Michel Tabori, Patrick Martinez, Ryan Travis Christian, Terry Powers, Timothy Bergstrom, as well as curating artist Andrew Schoultz.
A series of studio visits in various cities including Berkeley, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco led to Schoultz’s inspiration for That’s My Trip. Schoultz explains, “After an artist tells you about themselves and their work, it would end almost every time with the artist saying ‘so that’s my trip.’ I found this an interesting phrase to explain yourself to someone.” For Schoultz, the selected artists in That’s My Trip display a plethora of mediums and approaches, but remain connected by the common interest of their surroundings, and lack of separation between their lives and their work. Schoultz adds, “Their art is a portrait of themselves in some way or another.”
Berkeley-based artist Libby Black’s paper renditions of favorite personal belongings explore the artist’s memory, identity, and the subtle choices people make that ultimately shape who they are. The items in Black’s installation Taking a Trip, Not Taking a Trip (2015), are of personal significance to the artist, connecting her past with the present. The beach scene depicted in the installation alludes to Black’s annual trips to Florida from an early age. The Publix sun tan lotion, yellow Walkman and the Whitney Houston cassette tape are tangible representations of past memories and treasured possessions. Black’s present is represented by a pair of flip-flops, and a stack of books read and cherished by the artist. Echoing Schoultz’s perception of the exhibited work as “portraiture,” Black explains, “It’s like a landscape of the real and made up, and also a portrait without the figure.”
Los Angeles-based artist Patrick Martinez draws inspiration from the subtle characteristics of his home environment—“I love finding untapped rhythms in my landscape and exposing this to viewers.” In a comparable aesthetic to Libby Black, Martinez has produced a ceramic assemblage of flowers, fruit and a centerpiece reminiscent of those his mother would purchase from a local swap meet. Martinez elaborates, “I’m pairing this with traditional still life compounded with dark undertones brought forth from living in contemporary America. That’s my trip in a nutshell.” The artist’s affinity for his environment, and the often-overlooked features of his urban community, are reflected in his work, revealing aspects of Martinez’s identity, and in a broader sense, fundamental features of contemporary life in LA.
Contrasting these representational forms explored by Black and Martinez, Los Angeles-based artist Michel Tabori prefers an abstract approach. As demonstrated in the artist’s mixed media on canvas work, The Thrill That Coursed Through Her (2013), Tabori attempts to express pleasurable feelings inextricable to human emotion. These euphoric emotions are of constant intrigue and an endless source of inspiration to the artist. Tabori’s choice of abstraction is fitting, as the artist explains, “These paintings are a very intimate reflection of my surroundings… abstract painting allows me to create evocative and more accurate portrayals of what I am trying to describe—I don’t think I would do it in any other way.”
Aside from the connections drawn between the artists—aesthetic and conceptual—Schoultz has chosen to exhibit artists he finds inspiring, and appreciates for the sincerity of their work. To put it simply, Schoultz explains, “I am trying to curate a show with artists I believe in.”
Media
Schedule
from March 26, 2015 to May 02, 2015
Opening Reception on 2015-03-26 from 18:00 to 20:00