TAMERA AVERY: THRESHOLD
THONSON GALLERY
JANUARY 25 THROUGH MARCH 9
As if plucked from a folk carnival or political protest, Tamera Avery’s masked and costumed protagonists reappear in curiously liminal spaces: on the edge of a glacier, in a post-nuclear bunker, in a forest gloaming. Each surreal environment is rich with possibility and wrought by uncertainty. Within them, young wayfinders (based on the artist’s children and their peers) forge unlikely paths, transforming ordinary things – plastic gloves, an upturned handbag, abandoned toys, an old scarf – into extraordinary armor for selfhood as they come of age in a time of extraordinary environmental and sociopolitical change. Perched at the precipice of the in-between, in geographies simultaneously seductive and unknown, Avery’s figures navigate the duality of despair and hope – of ambivalent futures – at play in the contemporary moment.
Tamera Avery is a painter who lives and works in San Francisco. Her work has been critically acclaimed throughout California in exhibitions ranging from the De Young Open to the Crocker Kingsley exhibition (where she received first place in 2019) and in publications including New American Paintings (issue #145). She currently has a solo exhibition, 'Slipstream,' on view at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. She is represented by the Andrea Norris Gallery in Burlingame, California.
Invoking a sense of both the sublime and surreal, Avery’s monumental oil paintings are nonetheless deeply influenced by real-world environmental, political, and social concerns. Her work celebrates the young as champions of change, as well as the inheritors of flawed and failing systems. By creating works that suggest an unresolved narrative, she aims to catalyze dialogue about urgent issues such as climate change in a form that is simultaneously provocative and approachable.
DUNCAN ROBINS:
HUMAN-NATURE
DECEMBER 21 THROUGH FEBRUARY 9
Reflecting on our complex, evolving relationship with the natural world using driftwood and spray paint. Humans once coexisted with Nature in a balanced relationship. Together, we lived harmoniously and in abundance on Earth. That is, until Man created and then began exploiting technology. This exhibit of driftwood sculptures and sprayed paintings portrays our complex and evolving relationship with Nature.
Sculptures are made with as few, as-found pieces of driftwood as possible. Minimal shaping may aid assembly or recognition. Some oil paint may camouflage distracting elements. Paintings are sprayed on canvas. Pen, brush or sponges used on occasion. The simplified images are drawn/designed in a square, iconic format.
Thank you to Holly Yashi and Crestmark Millwork for their generous support!
From the HAC Permanent Collection: Morris Graves, Glenn Berry, Bruno Groth, Melvin Schuler & Romano Gabriel
“Selections from the Permanent Collection” features highlights from the HAC's superb holdings of North Coast fine art from the twentieth century. It incorporates a wide range of media, including painting, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, decorative and folk arts. Though the exhibition is ongoing, the installation is updated regularly. Please call ahead for details on current exhibitions. 707-442-0278