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EXHIBITIONS
Fret A Way With Words:
the Power and Art of the Book
Children’s Museum of the Arts,
New York, NY
November 29, 2018 - April 29, 2019
Eleven artists who work with the book in various ways are included in this exhibition curated by Jil Weinstock. A Way With Words shows the transformation of everyday books into expressions of identity, community, environmentalism, memory, and reconstructed narratives. The artists in the exhibition transform books into sculptures, animation, drawings, and paintings that capture the book’s significant history and power to inform the public. I am honored to be included in this stellar roster of artists with three of my Spines and Fragments pieces.
Fauxliage: Obligation to Endure NO TIME
McEvoy Foundation for the Arts
San Francisco, CA
September 21, 2018 – January 19, 2019
Reception: September 22, 5 – 8 p.m.
My thread leaf piece Fauxliage: Obligation to Endure, acquired by the McEvoy Family Foundation through Seager Gray Gallery, is included in the wide-ranging exhibition NO TIME. NO TIME explores human relationships to the natural world in the past, present, and future. In the context of current discussions around climate change, the works in NO TIME show how artists can reinterpret and reimagine the landscape.
Please join me in viewing this important and timely exhibition.
Textiel Plus
Featured Artist Article
Textiel Plus Article
The December, 2018 issue of the preeminent fiber magazine Textiel Plus features an interview with me about my work in a variety of fiber-related media. Holland is a hotbed of fiber innovation, and I’m pleased to increase the audience for my work in Europe.
ACQUISTIONS
A commission I recently made.
(Click play and then f to view full screen)
Community Health Innovations (CHI)
Montage Health/Community Hospital of the
Monterey Peninsula, Monterey, CA
I recently received a large commission for the new Montage Health/Community Hospital in Monterey, CA. Nature Library will be viewed from both sides in a beautifully constructed Plexiglas box. The piece is the result of countless hunting and gathering forays to find discarded books at the local recycling center and is composed of dozens of book cloth covers from a wide variety of sources. It was a true pleasure to make the piece, knowing that it will contribute to a feeling of well-being and tranquility as people “read” the bits of text while waiting to see their doctor.
My photographer, Lia Roozendaal, made a video of the process from beginning to end titled Nature Library Enjoy!
Panacea Pizpireta UCSF Precision Cancer Medicine Building
San Francisco
Three of my pieces from the Spines and Fragments and one from the Raveling series, made of self-help book parts and thread respectively, were acquired by the UCSF Precision Cancer Medicine Building. I am thrilled to have these pieces find a permanent home in a venue where they will be seen by a diverse population. Healthcare facilities are my favorite placements, as they help to calm and provide beauty and aesthetic sustenance to those in challenging life situations. A big thanks to Chandra Cerrito/Art Advisors for facilitating the acquisition.
Approximation #3 Mixed media buttonwork, 2003
Museum Acquisition
Boise Art Museum
Boise, ID
The Boise Art Museum recently acquired one of my buttonworks pieces. Approximation #3, 2003 is one of a series of portraits of my father, Joseph Kokin, who was the inspiration for the series. The piece joins Lost River, also in the permanent collection of the BAM.
TEACHING
March 20 - April 24, 2019
Six weeks, Wednesdays, 1:00 — 3:30 p.m.
Cost: $545 (includes most supplies).
SPRING SESSION 2019
Starting in the new year, I will enlarge the scope of Reuse Muse to accommodate artists who want to pursue their own work and ideas in a studio setting with like-minded artists. Artists who want to work on their own ideas can benefit from feedback and inspiration from fellow artists in the class; those who want concept- and materials-based assignments in the Joy of Limitations mode will be able to do that as well.Reuse Muse continues to fascinate and amaze me with the depth and breadth of imagination of the participants. Given only two items a week, along with a floater bag of materials, the Musettes (as I like to call them) create the most imaginative and compelling work. There are some spots available in the upcoming session; no experience is necessary. New participants find themselves drawn in to a new way of looking at materials and making which both complements their usual ways of working and sets them on new paths of creativity.
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COACHING/MENTORSHIPS
I work one-on-one with many artists in my Coaching/Mentorship Program, an outgrowth of decades of mentoring graduate students in local colleges and universities. The program is tailored to the needs of each artist and includes six one-hour meetings or the equivalent to be completed within six months.
Artists use their coaching/mentorship sessions for critique and career development, as well as issues related to maintaining a consistent studio practice.
For artists who live outside of the San Francisco Bay Area, mentorships are available via Skype.
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