Showing: November 3 – 30
Reception: Saturday, November 12th, 5-7 pm
In the realm of ceramics, anything is possible. The medium of clay, a divine material out of which the first human was said to be shaped, allows any sort of form or figure to come to life. My work pushes the boundary between reality and imagination, bringing to life previously unknown creatures. I offer a moment of contemplation, a glimpse of an unseen world, and a playful recombination of the familiar and the foreign.
The Shell Dwellers series explores a moment of sheltering–tuning out the cacophony of urban life and buzz of electronics and tuning into oneself.
These beings experience a more primordial, somatic connection with the world, feeling with their bodies instead of their minds. Listening to the rhythm of their own organism, their skin develops images like photographs in the darkroom.
These tattoos bypass words, immediately communicating their personal myths and identities, their adventures through labyrinths and deserts, their encounters with other strange creatures.
The Escapists similarly desire to escape from noisy reality. Soaking in baths while reading books or browsing virtual reality through smartphones, they leave behind the hustle and bustle of daily life. Instead, they immerse themselves in simple pleasures of the bath and absorb a quiet solitary moment. Tuning into the feminine element of water, they also immerse themselves in emotion, purification, intuition, the subconscious, and the mysteries of the self. The bathtubs and sometimes their bodies are intricately embellished with china painting, depicting the places of their fantasy and poetry of the books they read. The instruments of their immersion–books and digital devices–offer a gateway to another reality. A trace of their inner existence comes to the surface, a flash of a fleeting dream.
Artist Resume
| SOLO/TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2016 | upcoming: “Domesticated Abyss,” Abrams Claghorn Gallery, Albany, CA “Doulbe-Take,” Clay by the Bay, San Francisco, CA |
| 2015 | “Downtown Atlantis,” Inclusions Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2012 | “Power of Secrets,” 1000 Van Ness Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2011 | “In the Garden of Forked Paths,” Fabric8 Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2009 | “Sculptural Habitat,” Porto Franco Art Parlor, San Francisco, CA “Age of Aquarius,” Workspace, San Francisco, CA |
| 2007 | “Take-Off,” Workspace, San Francisco, CA |
| 2006 | “Floating Riddles of Time,” a. Muse Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Encrypted Happening,” Workspace, San Francisco, CA |
| 2005 | “Babylonian Underground,” AZ Gallery, Saint Paul, MN “Inside Eternity,” ArTrujillo Gallery, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2004 | “Searching for Beginnings,” Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2003 | “Awaiting Answers,” Saint Paul Academy, St. Paul, MN “One Desire for Three,” Bloomington Center for the Arts, Bloomington, MN |
| 2002 | “Mythomorphoses,” Phipps Centre for the Arts, Hudson, WI |
| 1999 | MC Gallery, Minneapolis, MN |
| 1997 | “Enigma and Revelation,” Kraine Fine Arts, Saint Paul, MN |
| 1996 | “Head for Great Ideas,” Hommage Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
| 1995 | “Game with Time,” Gonchary Gallery, Kiev, Ukraine, and Status-Crosna Gallery, Moscow, Russia |
| GROUP EXHIBITIONS | |
| 2016 | “Bancroft Sculpture Exhibit,” The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA “TeaTime,” Pence Gallery, Davis, CA “21st San Angelo National Ceramic Competition,” San Angelo, TX “Teapots! 10th invitational exhibition,” Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburg, PA “Equality,” Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH “3 Realms: Land, Sea & Sky,” SMAART Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2015 | “Holiday Showcase,” Abrams Claghorn Gallery, Albany, CA “Retrospective,” Inclusions Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Energizing the Issues with Clay,” Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC “Clay: tell-tale signs of connected(ness),” SMAART Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Sphinx,” tree person show, Carmen Castellano Fine Arts Gallery, San Jose, CA “Bancroft Sculpture Exhibit,” The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA “California Clay Competition,” The Artery, Davis, CA “Cupid’s Arrow National Exhibition,” Santa Fe, NM “Dynamic Narratives,” Folk Art Center, Ashville, NC “Bark,” Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA |
| 2014 | “Clay: A Chancy Act of Prolonged Engagement,” SMAART Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Bancroft Sculpture Exhibit,” The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA “Dynamic Narratives,” N.A.W.A. Gallery, New York, NY “Big Fish; Small Teapot,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA “8 from ACGA,” Davis Art Center, Davis, CA “30 Sculptors,” John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “California Clay Competition,” The Artery, Davis, CA “The Figure – A Bay Area Legacy,” Gary Francis Fine Art, Alameda, CA “Submerged,” Three person exhibition, SMAart Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Bark,” Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “In Full Bloom,” Baltimore Clayworks, MD |
| 2013 | Ceramics Annual of America, Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco, CA “Ink and Clay #39,” Kellog University Art Gallery, Pomona, CA “Bark,” Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “Bancroft Sculpture Exhibit,” The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA “Deep in the Shed / A Studio Sojourn,” SMAART Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Feats of Clay,” Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA “Future Culture,” Asterisk Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Plates and Totems,” Blue Line Gallery, Roseville, CA “30 Cearmic Sculptors,” Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “California Clay Competition,” The Artery, Davis, CA “Dynamic Narratives,” Winter Street Studios, Houston, TX “Peaceable Kingdom: Animals Real and Imagined,” Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA AGCA National Clay & Glass Exhibition, Brea Art Gallery, Brea, CA |
| 2012 | “Shanghai Art Fair 2012,” Shanghai, China Ceramics Annual of America, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA “Deja View,” SMAART Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Teapot Redefined,” Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA “Big Fish; Small Teapot,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA “30 Ceramic Sculptors,” Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “Elements,” ArtWorksDowntown, San Rafael, CA “Bark,” Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “California Clay Competition,” Artery, Davis, CA “CreativiTea,” ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA “Good Company, Great Clay & Glass in California 1932-2012,” Petaluma Art Center, Petaluma, CA |
| 2011 | “To Go,” Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, CA Ceramics Annual of America, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA “The Order & The New Surrealism,” Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA California Clay Competition, Artery, Davis, CA ACGA@MAH, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA “Mud/Marriage & Magic,” Market Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2010 | 3rd Biennial Concordia Continental Ceramics Competition, Concordia University, St. Paul, MN “Reliquaries,” Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Narrative Visions: Clay onto Art,” Market Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2009 | “Out of Fire,” Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA “Dia de los Muertos,” ArtWorks Downtown, San Rafael, CA “Small Works,” John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA “Two Person Show,” Pamela Skinner/Gwenna Howard/Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA “California Clay Competition,” The Artery, Davis, CA “Bancroft Sculpture Exhibit,” The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA |
| 2008 | “Bay Reflections,” California Modern Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA “What Goes Around,” ARTworkSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2007 | “Fired, Forged and Fabricated,” ARTworkSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA Opening show, Union Gallery, San Francisco, CA “East Meets West,” ARTworkSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Russian Art Exhibition,” Canvasations Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Nocturnal Visions,” ARTworkSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Transformations,” Polarity Post Productions, San Francisco, CA “Life is Beautiful,;” La Vita E Bella Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Fine Art Summit,” Mighty Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2006 | “Relic,” ARTworkSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Pleasure Zone,” SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA “Lost in Translation,” ARTworkSF Gallery, San Francisco, CA |
| 2005 | “Faith in Women,” Intermedia Art Center, Minneapolis, MN “H2O@AZ,” AZ Gallery, St. Paul, MN |
| 2004 | “Good Harvest: Making a Joyful Noise,” AZ Gallery, St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair Art Exhibition, St.Paul, MN “Common Thread,” Minneapolis Mosaic, Minneapolis, MN Upper Midwest Juried Sculpture Show, Minnetonka Center for the Arts, Wayzata, MN MFA Exhibitions, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, MN “College Bowl,” Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2003 | “Common Treasures,” Mykonos Municipal Gallery, Mykonos, Greece “Minnesota Clay,” Rochester Arts Center, Rochester, MN Saint Paul City Hall, St. Paul, MN “Fringe Visual Exhibition,” Thom Berry Gallery, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2001 | Graduate Student Exhibition, Katherine Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, MN Opening Show, L’Attitude Gallery, Boston, MA “Icebreaker,” Di Stilo Gallery, Minneapolis, MN Opening Show, Joan of Art Gallery, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2000 | Group Show, L’Attitude Gallery, Anna Maria, FL “Flesh,” College of Visual Arts, St. Paul, MN “Fairy Tales,” Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| TEACHING EXPERIENCE | |
| 2009 | Art Instructor, Congregation Emanu-El, San Francisco, CA |
| 2007-present | Teaching Workshops “Adventures in Clay,” San Francisco, CA |
| 2004-2005 | Instructor in Graphic Design, Drawing, and Art History, Academy College, Bloomington, MN |
| 2002-2004 | Instructor in Beginning Drawing, U of MN, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2001-2002 | Teaching Assistant in Beginning and Intermediate Ceramics, U of MN, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2000 | Instructor in Fine Arts, American Indian OIC School, Minneapolis, MN |
| 1999 | Instructor in Drawing and Sculpture, MCTC, Minneapolis, MN |
| 1998-1999 | Instructor in Clay, Visual Arts, Jewish Middle School, Saint Paul, MN Instructor in Clay, Drawing and Painting, Edina Art Center, MN |
| AWARDS | |
| 2016 | Finalist, “Niche Award,” Washington, DC |
| 2015 | People’s Choice Award, 2015 California Clay Competition, Davis, CA |
| 2014 | Honorable Mention, “Big Fish: Small Teapot,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA |
| 2012 | Grand Prize, “Big Fish: Small Teapot,” American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA Finalist, “Niche Award,” Philadelphia, PA |
| 2011 | Third place, “To Go,” Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino, CA |
| 2009 | The Leslie Ceramics Award, 2009 California Clay Competition, Davis, CA |
| 2004 | Honorable mention, Minnesota State Fair, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2003 | Graduate Partnership Scholarship Award, U of MN, Minneapolis, MN Joel and Aja Ceramics Scholarship Award, U of MN, Minneapolis, MN |
| 2002 | Brown-MacKenzie Arts Scholarship, U of MN, Minneapolis, MN |
| 1999 | Second honor, Minnesota State Fair, Saint Paul, MN |
| EDUCATION | |
| 2004 | MFA, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN |
| 1990 | Bachelor of Fine Arts with Highest Honors, Kiev Fine Arts College, Fine Arts and Graphic Design, Kiev, Ukraine |