ARTIST’S EXHIBITION STATEMENT
TRACES is an exploration of where we place our attention and how that attention is valued. Descended from the visual narrative ofwomen’s craft and quilting, my visual language exposes the ways societal pressures change our forms and shape our lives over generations. The shapes are constructed and combined, layer-by-layer, in an attempt to fit into a structure, and then broken down again to exposewhat is essential. This process mirrors the navigation of my dyslexic experience — constantly assembling meaning while finding alternative pathways when conventional systems fail to accommodate divergent ways of processing the world. The layers reveal the labor of adaptation, the quiet work of translating one’s inner language into forms that society might recognize and value. Every trace leaves a lasting mark on the work, regardless of its subtlety, just as every experience leaves a mark on our lives. Theaccumulated weight of being measured against standards that weren’t designed for different minds or genders creates its own visualvocabulary. Past struggles with systems that demand conformity become present textures—some rough, some worn smooth byrepetition, all bearing witness to the persistence required to make space for oneself. Through the making and unmaking of these shapes I investigate which of the traces bind the forms, and which liberate them. The paintings ask: What happens when we stop trying to fit into prescribed structures and instead honor the intelligence of our own processes? In the breaking down and rebuilding, in the patient reworking of elements that refuse to behave as expected, lies both the evidence of our labor and the assertion of our inherent value. – Hannah Franco, June 2025
Press Release available here >
EVENTS, EXHIBITION HOURS & LOCATION:
Artist’s reception Saturday, July 19th, 3–5pm / Late hours for First Friday on August 1st, open 12-8pm
Open Saturdays 12-5pm and weekdays by appointment, July 19–August 23, 2025, 473 25th Street, Oakland, CA
FOR MORE INFORMATION: info@slateart.net / 510-652-4085
Check gallery website for hours and additional info
