July 12 Opening, ARC Gallery, San Francisco

Please come and see my new work, Curiosity/Prohibition/Envy, in the “Collage-a-Rama” Exhibition at the Project Gallery, Arc Gallery & Studios in San Francisco. This piece is a large book, 29" wide and 14" high when open, comprised of 18 inter-related collages. Some of the pages are pictured above and below.

"Collage-a-Rama” features collages made by local artists during the Collage-a-Rama collage-making sessions at Arc Gallery in 2014. The community, support and cool collage materials provided by the participating artists made this work possible.

 

Opening Reception on Saturday, July 12th 7-9PM
Exhibition:  July 12th - August 9th

Arc Gallery & Studios
1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco
between 8th & 9th, Civic Center BART

http://www.arc-sf.com/collage-a-rama.html

a page from "Curiosity/Prohibition/Envy"

Bluebeard and other tales

Ondine

old lessons, still unlearned

I'm working on a new series inspired by old Fairytales.  Here are the first two pieces.  Ondine is a response to Irish and German stories about water creatures that become women.  These tales are a bit like "The Little Mermaid" in that the water-women fall in love with men and try to live on dry land.  Disney, of course, gave it a happy ending, something the old stories never have.  Old Lessons is a rumination about the many versions of "Bluebeard".  Most European cultures, and a few Asian ones, have Folk stories about a serial wife killer.  My favorites are the ones in which a "wily" potential victim turns the tables.


This series will be part of a pop-up show I am going to do with Kristine Mays at ARC in September.  Kristine's work is wonderful, check it out at http://kmaysart.blogspot.com/

SPRING OPEN STUDIOS

Friday, April 16, 7pm-10pm 

Reception for Spring Open Studios at ARC Studios and Gallery

1246 Folsom St., between 8th and 9th.  I am in studio #205. Please click http://www.arcsf.net/index.html for a map. The Reception will feature live music and refreshments.  

Saturday and Sunday, April 17th and 18th 
Open Studios continuess at ARC over the weekend. Artist's studios, including my own, will be open to the public from 11am to 6pm both days.  Please go to  http://www.somaopenstudios.org/ for details and directions

In my studio you will see my new series “Illusion of Choice”, which is finished (at least for now), and some new Artists Books.  
 


The five pieces in "Illusion of Choice" have been both exhilarating and troubling to produce.  I have constructed figures resembling paper dolls, marionettes and death masks which are then collaged over 5 or 6  distressed layers of fashion magazine layouts and beauty advertisements.  These underlying layers are inspired, in part, by the semi-destroyed temporary walls that you often see surrounding construction sites.  The walls are plastered with tattered posters making vague promises, partially peeled away; revealing fragments of older posters with more vague promises. Such walls document relentless cycles of unfulfilled desire. Unfulfilled desire is also at the heart of beauty magazines--desire for love, for self-regard, for power--all to be gained through appearance.

The process of building up and stripping down images (choosing—tearing—shellacking—texturing—painting) was great fun.
However, working with the source material was oppressive.  Paging through magazines full of beauty advice brings me to the place where identity and capitalism meet. It is the wellspring of an unending quest for perfection.

I will also be showing the remaining three unsold pieces in my "Female Personae" series, as well as a couple of new, smaller mixed media sculptures in a similar vein.

 





 
That entire series may be viewed at http://www.tanya-wilkinson.com/

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