New Crew Members Welcomed Aboard!

This summer Embark Gallery welcomes two new crew member to Embark Gallery, Nicole Lian Aponte and Christopher Squier.

To celebrate their new positions we are hosting a crew show called Above Board. 

Join us on Wednesday, August 3rd for the closing reception for Above Board and take a look at our new crew's bios below:

Nicole Lian Aponte, Education Director, is a Puerto Rican artist enthralled with the world of painting. She investigates identity, landscape, and adaptation through a process that draws parallels between her experiences of moving around and the physical actions in her work. Aponte has shown in exhibitions in California and currently has work in Dallas at Sherle Wagner Art Gallery. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California Los Angeles (2010) and a Masters in Fine Arts from the California College of Arts (2016), and is one of the recipients of the Dennis Leon and Christin Nelson scholarship (2016) as well as the Clyde & Co. Community Art Award (2015, 2016).

Christopher Squier, Programs Director, is a San Francisco-based, interdisciplinary artist working primarily with sculpture and digital media. His work explores urban infrastructure, linguistics, and material notions of place within a modern, nomadic way of life. Recently, he has shown in Boston, Córdoba, Prague and San Francisco, and is preparing a residency in Trondheim, Norway this summer. He received an MFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute (2015), a BA in Art from Grinnell College (2013), and currently serves as the inaugural Kadist + SFAI Fellow (2015-2016).

Now Accepting Submissions for 3 Shows

Our next round of submissions is now live on SlideRoom.

Embark seeks work from artists currently enrolled in programs related to the arts at the following institutions: California College of the Arts, Mills College, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, San Jose University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley and UC Davis. 

Students who have earned their degree in Spring of 2016 are also eligible to apply to this round of shows.

The deadline to apply is July 1, 2016 at midnight.

SlideRoom charges a $5 fee per application, which goes entirely to SlideRoom. Thank you for understanding. 

Humor Us

September 10th-October 22nd

Philosopher John Morreall famously defined humor as amusement that takes pleasure in a cognitive shift. The opening of this exhibition next fall presents a timely connection to the presidential elections and artists are encouraged to present works that reflect issues surrounding American citizen concerns in a new presidential tenure. How might emerging contemporary artists convey religious and race discrimination, or a crippling economy, or housing costs through humor?

The title of the exhibition is a play upon words that encompasses the word ‘humorous’, the phrase ‘humor me’, and ‘US’ as the abbreviation for the United States in order to incorporate the various roles that humor can play for a single individual. Humor Us intends to make hearts heavy with laughter and faces hurt from smiles, to approach conversations about critical issues artists in the US care about today.

Artworks of any medium, including large-scale installation and performance, will be considered. Artists are encouraged to keep in mind both themes of politics and humor when selecting and submitting work. Embark would also like to encourage artists to present a body of work rather than several disparate pieces, if applicable to your practice (singular works will still be considered).

This exhibition is curated by Tanya Gayer (CCA), whose proposal was selected in Embark's last call for curatorial proposals.

Required Dates for Artists:

Artist Meet up and Artwork Drop off: September 4th

Opening Reception: September 9th

Artwork Pickup: October 23rd

#simulacra

November 5th-December 17th

We live in a visual culture in which it is increasingly easy to participate. Images are all-important, and are no longer mere representations of truth. As Jean Baudrillard predicted, reality itself has begun to imitate what was once its model and now the model is all we care about. If no one Instagrams it...did it ever really happen?

Topics may include, but are not limited to: the role and influence of the media in contemporary life, representations of capitalist value systems (in which money is the universal equivalent for value), urban landscapes replacing natural environments, and/or the ways in which language, visual or otherwise, traps us in certain ideologies. The question being: How do these considerations of the current state of visual culture affect contemporary photography?

Submissions of photo sculpture, installation, books and performance that incorporates photography are all welcome. Embark would also like to encourage artists to present a body of work rather than several disparate pieces, if applicable to your practice (singular works will still be considered).

Required Dates for Artists

Artist Meet up and Artwork Drop off: October 30th

Opening Reception: November 4th

Artwork Pickup: December 18th

Not Never

January 28th- March 4th

Inspired by philosopher Herbert Marcuse’s notion of “the great refusal,” Not Never aims to showcase activist artworks that address oppression as it is related to the queer community. We are looking for artists whose work destabilizes, troubles, and/or challenges hegemonic systems by just saying “no.” We would like to explore queer refusal as an antagonistic force in contemporary art, and art that opts out of and/or fights back against the status quo.

All media will be considered, including activist projects and social practice work. Embark would also like to encourage artists to present a body of work rather than several disparate pieces, if applicable to your practice (singular works will still be considered).

Required Dates for Artists

Artist Meet up and Artwork Drop off: January 21st

Opening Reception: January 27th

Artwork Pickup: March 5th

Embark Gallery Hosts Exhibition featuring UC Davis MFA Graduates

For Immediate Release

Coined by cognitive scientist Colin Cherry in 1953, the “Cocktail Party Effect” describes the filtering out of a multitude of sounds in order to focus on a particular conversation. It involves tuning into a single voice and detecting objects of importance, while tuning out visual and auditory clutter. Like the viewing of artwork, it works best when “hearing with both ears,” letting the senses fully activate in engagement with the object.

Over the last two years, each artist represented in this exhibition has collected and processed ideas and materials, listening for that singular voice amid the din. They have arrived at a place unique to their research. The work you see here is the culmination and distillation of that process, presented through painting, performance, installation, video, sculpture and printmaking.

About the UC Davis Art Studio M.F.A. Program

The Master of Fine Arts Degree in Art Studio, established in 1969, is a two­year, critically engaged studio program that provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary study in the visual arts. As part of a small tight­ knit community, students explore a wide range of media and approaches to studio practice. Current faculty members include Shiva Ahmadi, Tom Bills, Darrin Martin, Hearne Pardee, Lucy Puls, Annabeth Rosen, Young Suh, Robin Hill, Tim Hyde and Gina Werfel.

Students explore a wide range of media and approaches to studio practice. Drawing on the strengths of a multidisciplinary research campus, the program encourages research collaborations connecting the arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences. The program is committed to delivering an innovative educational curriculum that promotes the blending of art theory and creative practice, with a goal to prepare students for professional engagement in the arts, including but not exclusive to academic careers. We aim to advance theories, methods, tools, and knowledge in emerging areas of studio art practice. 

Artists:

Sarah Chan
Zach Clark
Anna Davidson Kristin Hough
Jeff Mayry
Julian Tan
Brett Alex Thomas Angela Willetts

Opening Reception: May 13th, 5­-9pm

Facebook Event // UC Davis Show Site

For further information, please contact Tania Houtzager at 415­902­1013 or by e­mail: Tania@EmbarkGallery.com

Embark Gallery Presents CAMPUS: Interventions into Public Space, featuring Live and Interactive Performance at Fort Mason Center

For Immediate Release

Postcard Image: “Violence and Fragility,” performance proposal by Yvette Dibos.

Campus: Interventions into Public Space is a one-time performance event happening Saturday, May 21st at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, in the alleyway between Buildings B and C. This juried exhibition prompted artists to submit artwork that engages the architectural space at Fort Mason and promotes audience participation. Our esteemed juror Justin Hoover, Creative Director or Arts & Culture at Fort Mason, selected three site-specific works that activate the unique site of the alleyway.

Though diverse, all winning proposals explore the "space between" structures, people and cultural categorizations in provocative and creative ways. Charlie Ford and Dana Morrison (SFAI) explore constricts via the edges and limitations of the human body in an ephemeral and poetic dance performance. Yvette Dibos (CCA) challenges boundaries with her at once humorous and ominous balloon performance. Referencing the radical history of feminist performance art, Dibos takes issues of labor and sabotage into the contemporary moment. “The Expanding Gallery,”  the project presented Elizabeth Bennett (Mills), asks visitors to label found “artworks” around Fort Mason, challenging the value systems in the art world through crowd-sourced participation.

Elizabeth Bennett. Near Castle Rock State Park and Hwy 9. Part of "But Now I'm Found" 2016 Series.

Embark Gallery is a 1,500 sq. ft. nonprofit art space that opened in February 2015. Our mission is to support an engaged community of young artists, curators and scholars during their studies and as they leave their graduate programs. We assist students in embarking on their professional careers, while expanding the audience for up and coming contemporary art.

The gallery represents the diversity of the talented artists studying at eight local art institutions including California College of the Arts, Mills College, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Stanford University,  University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Davis.

Artists:

            Elizabeth Bennett | Mills

Yvette Dibos | CCA

Charlie Ford | SFAI

Dana Morrison | SFAI

Opening Reception: May 21st, 1-4pm

For further information, please contact Tania Houtzager at 415-902-1013 or by e-mail Tania@EmbarkGallery.com

Embark Gallery partners with stARTup Art Fair and Parking Lot Art Fair, Bringing Graduate Students to the Conversation

For Immediate Release

Room Service at startup Art Fair and Trunk Show at Parking Lot Art Fair

Image: Marcela Pardo Ariza, Bathroom, 2014. From the series "David, David, David."

Embark Gallery presents Room Service in room 315 of stARTup Art Fair.

Hotels have memories lurking in every corner. Food, sex, love, loneliness, service, consumption. Embark Gallery presents a collection of current and recently graduated Bay Area MFA students whose work activates the hotel room space and explores these themes. 

Angela Willets, Memory Mattress Minimalism (video still), 2016

Stop by for site-specific installations, live performances and interactive art. Curated by Tania Houtzager and Angelica Jardini.

In addition to exhibiting artworks in room 315, we will also be hosting a panel talk, MASTERS: A Review of Graduate Degrees in the Arts and What Happens Next, on Sunday, May 1st at 1pm.

Moderated by Tania Houtzager and including panelists Alice Combs (artist, MFA, SFAI ‘15), Christopher Nickel (Artist, MFA Art Practice, Stanford ‘15), Michelle Ott (Artist, MFA, UC Berkeley ‘15) and Malena Lopez Maggi (Artist, MFA in Studio Art, Mills 15’), this panel will discuss life immediately after completing a masters degree in the arts. The conversation will address the value of an advanced degree in today’s art world, the prospects and opportunities an MFA creates (or doesn't), and what jobs artists can pursue and secure after graduation. 

This panel represents Embark Gallery's ongoing mission to provide support and professional guidance to local emerging artists.

Exhibiting Artists:

Alice Combs, SFAI

Yvette Dibos, CCA

Daniel Genzel, CCA

Malena Maggi-Lopez, Mills

Michelle Ott, UC Berkeley

Marcela Pardo Ariza, SFAI

Angela Willets, UC Davis

Hours: Friday April 29th, 12-6pm with after party 6-10pm, Saturday April 30th, 12-9pm and Sunday May 1, 12-7pm

Come one, come all, to Embark Gallery’s TRUNK SHOW at the Parking Lot Art Fair in Fort Mason Center.

Indulge in consumer fantasies, revel in thing-ness and support emerging local artists! Artists will display their wares in a flea-market style shopping and art extravaganza. Stop by our spot for original artwork, crafts and ephemera from our talented alumni. You never know what you’ll find in the trunk…

Michelle Ott, Postcard Machine (detail), 2016

Featuring Michelle Ott’s infamous “Postcard Machine,” part vending machine, part social experiment, part sketchbook and ongoing art project. 

Artists:

Elizabeth Bennett, Mills

Becca Hall, CCA

Michelle Ott, UC Berkeley

More artists TBA

Hours: Satuday April 30th, 8am-3pm

For further information, please e-mail info@embarkgallery.com

Enact, Embark's SF International Arts Festival Show

Enact is a sampling of contemporary performance art by Bay Area MFA students and graduates. Performing and visual artists, Minoosh Zomorodina, Christopher Squier, Lorenzo Cardim and Marissa Katarina Bergmann utilize light, sound and movement giving life to components of human experience and highlighting the power of individual action. They address issues from our response to natural disaster to our relationship with historical architecture in three acts throughout the spaces of Fort Mason's Firehouse venue. 

Dates:
Friday, May 20th, 9:30pm
Saturday, May 21st, 7:00pm
Sunday, May 22nd, 5:00pm

Venue: The Firehouse at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture

 

The Artists

Christopher Squier, SFAI '15, is a San Francisco-based, interdisciplinary artist working primarily with sculpture and digital media. His work explores urban infrastructure, linguistics, and material notions of place within a modern, nomadic way of life. Recently, he has shown in Boston, Córdoba, Prague and San Francisco, and is preparing a residency in Trondheim, Norway in summer 2016. He received an MFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute (2015), a BA in Art from Grinnell College (2013), and currently serves as the inaugural Kadist + SFAI Fellow (2015-2016).

Marissa Katarina Bergmann (Aimari), CCA '15, is an artist, photographer, filmmaker, and vocalist based in San Francisco. She received a BA in Visual and Media Studies, Documentary Studies, and Photography from Duke University, and holds an MFA from California College of the Arts. She creates intimate environments that exist as sincere meditations on love, spirituality, synchronicity, and the intersection of personal, cultural, and political healing through installation, performance, poetry, storytelling, and sound. Her works have been featured nationally and internationally in galleries, universities, and film festivals in San Francisco, Oakland, Durham, Chapel Hill, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and Florence, Italy.

Minoosh (Raheleh) Zomorodinia, SFAI 15', is an Iranian photographer, performer and video artist. She believes in and trusts the intuitive creative process to reveal and give form to unconscious and deeper mysterious truths. Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Isfahan in Iran, Pori Art Museum in Finland, Marin Community Foundation in Novato, and the Nevada Museum of Art.  She received an MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute (2015), an MA in Graphic Design (2006) and a BA in photography from Azad Islamic University in Tehran (1998).

Lorenzo Cardim, CCA 16', completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Corcoran School of Art + Design in 2014 while concurrently studying with the Maida Withers Dance Construction Company. After graduation, he spent a season as Visiting Artist at Red Dirt Studio in Mt. Rainier, Maryland, where he designed and directed a weekly philosophy seminar. Cardim is currently a Master of Fine Arts candidate at California College of the Arts (CCA) in San Francisco, California. Cardim’s works have been featured nationally and internationally in galleries, film festivals, and museums in Washington, D.C., New York City, Oakland, San Francisco, and Milan, Italy.

Embark Gallery Opens West Coast Iteration of Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Competition

For Immediate Release

Local MFA Students Exhibition of Contemporary Portraiture

Encounters: Portraits and Identity is on view from Friday, March 18th to Saturday April 30th at Embark Gallery at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture. This juried exhibition prompted artists to submit artwork that captures an aspect of identity--whether personal, familial, cultural, political or otherwise. In keeping with the guidelines of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, the artists were free to select the subject of the artwork, as long as the work evolved from the artist’s direct contact with that person.

Our esteemed jurors, Director Kim Sajet and Director of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture Dorothy Moss (NPG) invited artists to interpret the concept of portraiture broadly, in keeping with one of the Portrait Gallery’s aims to represent the diversity of contemporary portraiture in America.

As one might expect from emerging Bay Area artists, many risks were taken. The resulting exhibition is both an intimate survey of human interaction and a conceptually rigorous offering of local styles. Media ranges from the more traditional photography and painting, to large-scale ceramic work, embroidery, innovative video projection and live performance. Mental illness is represented in the work of photographer Dan Fenstermacher, while Leila Weefur playfully and poignantly speaks to tensions of racial identity and the experience of multi-ethnic children. Hui Meng Wang’s dinner table performance addresses the interaction of cultures in a globalized world, while artists Victoria Maidhof and Willow Griffiths delve into the familiar, showcasing the important encounters that occur within our own homes and communities.

Simona Fitcal. I.M.U.R. Media installation, 2015.

Encounters features eleven artists from six of the eight different local Bay Area institutions represented by Embark Gallery. We are thrilled to facilitate their inclusion in a nationwide dialogue regarding portraiture led by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.  This conversation will continue on April 3rd, 2016 in a panel discussion with Kim Sajet and 3 finalists of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, hosted by Embark Gallery.

Artists:

Jamee Crusan | CCA

Dan Fenstermacher | SJSU

Ninh Filip | SJSU

Simona Fitcal | Stanford

Willow Griffiths | SFAI

Victoria Maidhof | SFAI

Juan Pablo Pacheco | SFAI

Lauren Ross | CCA

Hui Meng Wang | SFAI

Leila Weefur | Mills

Sarah Woodard | SFSU

Opening Reception: Friday, March 18th, 2016. 5-9pm.

Hours: Open 12-5pm every Saturday from Friday, March 19th-April 30th. By appointment only every Monday from March 21-April 25th.