Show Me Your Hand

Coagula Curatorial presents SHOW ME YOUR HAND, a group show of art privileging the hand-labored element of creation curated by Leigh Salgado.

Featured Artists: Val Echavarria, Samantha Harrison, Patricia Liverman, Susan McDonnell, Bhavna Mehta, Billy Pacak, Alyson Souza

April 28 - May 27, 2018
Reception: Saturday, April 28 from 6-9 PM

The HAND in the exhibit’s title refers to the dextrous appendage that makes artistic visions into experiential objects. The artist’s hand is evident in the process, labor, physicality and attention to detail in SHOW ME YOUR HAND. A combination of interests that include abstract, figurative and representational elements are presented here. Each object itself and the labor that went into it is message enough, although, there are other meanings, some subtle, others more apparent, throughout the exhibit.

Each of the seven artists in the show create sophisticated visual objects via working with their hands. Somewhat out of fashion in a culture awash in digital stimuli and an art world satisfied with conceptual blather, the hand-made art objects produced by these seven are satisfying to the eye and the mind of the viewer while asserting that their individual laborious process underscores the commitment to vision of their maker.

•Val Echavarria incorporates weaving, crochet and textile techniques to expand upon her mixed media art practice to entice us with a tactile and visual experience.

•Samantha Harrison uses perlé floss, linen, felt and miscellaneous bric a brac in her creations that are hand-stitched and hand-sewn on wood with fiber stuffing.

•Patricia Liverman uses the traditional medium of oil paint to create contemporary sculptural paintings with a non-traditional approach. After painting multiple layers on canvas, she then peels them away and cuts and reassembles them on panels or stretched canvases.

•Bhavna Mehta’s hand is visible in her use of cutting and sewing to add and subtract; layering techniques with paper and thread tell visual stories that explore the idea that everything is connected.

•Susan McDonnell uses traditional, painstaking techniques that consist of many layers of thin paint and weavings of countless brushstrokes. Egg tempera, which she makes, may be used as the sole medium, or as the underpainting medium for oil paintings using traditional glazing techniques.

•Billy Pacak lets found wood speak to him and the size and shape of the piece informs what it will become. Using traditional wood-working tools, he engages in the labor-intensive practice of removing and sanding to find and reveal the sculpture.

•Alyson Souza builds pieces out of wood and incorporates objects that are found or that she constructs herself. She stains and paints the surfaces to highlight the pattern and texture of the wood while then using traditional oil painting and impasto techniques to further her unique vision.

The exhibit runs April 28 thru May 27. Coagula Curatorial is open Thursday thru Sunday from 1-6 PM.