Chandra Cerrito Contemporary is pleased to announce You are the result of the love of thousands, presented by Dimitra Skandali, the summer 2018 Peripheral Visions artist-in-residence, from July 6 to August 4, 2018.
You are the result of the love of thousands, a residency and exhibition by Dimitra Skandali, begins on July 6, 2018 when she will invite visitors to write down the places from which they have come on large pieces of paper on the gallery walls. This prompt can be interpreted broadly to include places of residence, ancestral homelands, or other stops on their journeys. Along with making note of these sites, she will also ask them to suggest a poet or a writer from those locales. During her residency, Skandali will research the coordinates of the locations and make note of those next to each visitor’s marks. The event will be a way to simultaneously share stories from our journeys, roots, and whatever else one may be carrying through their lifetime.
“Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands” Linda Hogan (Chickasaw).
Linda Hogan’s poem reminds us where we are standing and where we come from. As an artist, Skandali works with the idea of keeping her roots strong, while expanding and building communities across oceans. Thus the underlying principle of the residency is an opportunity for everyone to bring words, thoughts, and ideas from where they come from, physically and metaphorically. A reminder that where we come from and what we carry is who we are. Wall drawings and fine sculptures made of fragile, natural and manmade elements like copper wire, seaweed, sea grass and other found materials will be inspired by the interaction of the visitors, creating a network of connections: a physical manifestation of the ways we find connections, allowing visitors, passersby and the artist to engage, and find linkages in the international and diverse community of the Bay Area. In an ephemeral, impermanent, and temporary work like this one, Skandali works to highlight the possibilities of common points of departure and to build stable and strong relationships. It is in the beauty of life to share and learn from each other.
The gallery will host an Invitation for Public Participation on Friday, July 6th, to introduce the project and participate in the artist’s work. The public is invited back for another chance to participate in the project and to hear the artist talk on Saturday, July 21st . On First Friday, August 3rd, there will be a final event to view the full installation where everyone will be able to spend time mentally traveling and contemplating with the completed installation.
About the Artist in Residence
Dimitra Skandali is originally from the island of Paros, Greece. She has lived in the Bay Area since 2011, receiving her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2013. Since then she has been the recipient of numerous awards and her works have been exhibited throughout the Bay Area, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, the Philippines, and Greece. Most recently she was shown at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the ICA in San Jose, and the Aegean Center for the Arts on Paros Island, GR. She lives and works in San Francisco and Paros Island Greece.
About Peripheral Visions
Peripheral Visions is an artist- or curator-in-residence program at Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, a contemporary art gallery. Its mission is to provide an Oakland-based platform for artists and curators of wide-ranging backgrounds and outlooks to present projects that: 1) create bridges–encourage connection and communication among diverse groups, or 2) expand the view–broaden perspectives on art and the human experience. Peripheral Visions aims to present meaningful and compelling creative works incorporating visual art that utilize the gallery’s physical space and engage its community.
In this time of political, economic, and cultural polarization on a national and regional scale, art can prompt genuine communication, empathy, and insight required for a harmonious future. Art can enable collaboration and a sense of shared experience between people despite our perceived differences. It may offer new means of problem solving that bypass traditional approaches. While art may be an important key to the health of our society, the Bay Area’s current real estate climate poses significant challenges to the sustainability of art venues. Peripheral Visions provides a place in Oakland for creative voices to be heard at this critical time.
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