2 x 2 Solos is an exhibition that showcases the best new work made in San Francisco Bay Area region and provides the support necessary for emerging artists to establish themselves in a critical contemporary art context. Drawn from nominations by artist groups, institutions, and organizations in the Oakland/Bay Area, four artists are selected to work closely with an independent curator and receive a cash honorarium and a commissioned essay about their work.
Pro Arts presents artists Nadim Sabella and Imin Yeh.
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Exhibition Dates:
January 26th - Febuary 26, 2010
Opening Reception:
February 5, 2010 from 6 - 8 PM
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Oakland based artist Nadim Sabella’s photographs and large scale installations address climate change and flooding as they affect the Bay Area landscape. In his first solo exhibition at Pro Arts, Sabella creates scenes of devastation, both in miniature models as the subject of his flood photographs, and in the life sized boat hull that appears to jut out of the gallery’s wall. Underlying the striking visuals and illusions of his work is a disturbingly real fact: that if the sea level were to rise four and a half feet (as it has been predicted to do by the end of this century), much of the Bay Area will be under water.
Lucy Kalyani Lin is an independent curator and artist based in Oakland. She is currently the Program Associate for the Cultural Equity Grants Program of the San Francisco Arts Commission, and recently served as Visual Arts Curator for APAture 10.
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San Francisco Based artist Imin Yeh uses humor and craft to explore the cultural exchange that exists between China and the United States. Good Imports is a collection of previously discarded objects wrapped in hand painted fabric. These objects, all produced in China, have been wrapped in the style of fabric customarily reserved for the cloth-covered boxes that accompany traditional Chinese imports: teapots, medicine balls, mah-jong games and stone seal sets. The second installation, Thank You for Commenting, consists of a series of hand drawn posters featuring text appropriated from user comments found online. Each impulsive comment is plucked from anonymity and designed for maximum advertising potential.
Julia Hamilton is an independent curator based in Oakland California. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Art Practice at the University of California, Berkeley.
Pro Arts | 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA | (510) 763-4361 | www.proartsgallery.org
