embrace at occca

28 Feb embrace at occca

Currently showing at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana, the exhibit Embrace is comprised of artwork by Kim Tucker, Michael Giancristiano and Matjames Metson; curated by Katherine Huntoon.

This show illustrates the power of a curator’s voice to bind seemingly unrelated works together under one banner.  In the case of Embrace we are asked to notice how each of these artists lovingly and meticulously rescue the abandoned or overlooked to create highly emotional works that become much greater than the sum of their parts.

“Embrace shows us how to remember that we are the imperfect, the hope-filled, the commonplace and the haunted.”

The homespun quality of the exhibit as a whole speaks to the familiar and intimate niches we carve into the urban landscape in an effort to create our sense of place. Each piece exhibits the patina of human hands, cracked and worn antiques, clay and wood, turned over and over in a ritualistic drive to create meaning through the thoughtful combination of forgotten and earthen objects.

Saturday March 2nd at 7pm, join EMBRACE Exhibition Curator Katherine Huntoon and exhibiting artists Kim Tucker, Michael Giancristiano and Matjames Metson for a gallery talk. Free and open to the public. Reception to follow event.

Matjames Metson
Matjames is known for his illustrative work as well as his assemblage sculptures. A self-taught artist, Matjames spent the better part of two decades living in New Orleans.  He now calls Los Angeles home. His work has been featured at the Craft and Folk Art Museum, Billy Shire Fine Arts and La Luz de Jesus all in Los Angeles, CA, Barrister’s Gallery in New Orleans, LA and the American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore, MD. He is currently putting the finishing touches on his graphic novel, Survivor’s Guild, Book 2, a story of the displacement and loneliness he experienced as a Katrina refugee.

Kim Tucker
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kim Tucker studied ceramic sculpture working with Viola Frey and Arthur Gonzalez at the California College of Arts and Crafts, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1996. Kim earned her M.F.A under M.J. Bole from The Ohio State University in 1999. Kim is currently teaching ceramics at Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles. Her work has earned several awards and has been included in several group and solo exhibitions including American Museum of Ceramic Art Pomona, CA, L2kontemporary, Honor Fraser Gallery, Gallery 825 and at a bowling alley all in Los Angeles, CA, Nexus Gallery in Berkeley, CA and Gallery Futur in Switzerland following an artists residency there. Tucker was named as one of “Seventeen Artists You Should Know About“ in the 2009 issue of Los Angeles’ THE magazine.

Michael Giancristiano
Michael Giancristiano was born in Los Angeles, California. He is accomplished in several media but is best known for his abstract, plywood wall reliefs. His work has exhibited internationally and can be found in many private and corporate collections including the library archives of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.  His work has been exhibited most recently at LAXART, LA Artcore and Shoshana Wayne Gallery and in Art Platform LA at the Los Angeles Art Association/Gallery 825 all in Los Angeles, CA, and at LACMA and the Museum of Ventura County, Ventura, CA.