My daughter would often ask me what powers I would have if I could have super powers. My answer is always teleportation.
Today I am in Los Angeles, CA setting up 6 sculptures and 13 smaller works at TRYST with after/time gallery and Allied Special Projects & NOMAD as a solo artist. Both shows are located Del Amo Crossing 21535 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA and opening tomorrow August 7th until Sunday August 9th. For NOMAD I am on the 5th floor along the windows. TRYST is on the 3rd floor and my work is with Allied Special Projects in room 58 (the pink room) and with after/time Gallery in room 43.
Meanwhile across the country in Richmond, VA the amazing team at Crone House has framed almost 20 original cyanotypes and hung them on the stunning blue walls of Blue Bee Cidery. Wild & Soft opening tonight August 6th 6pm-8 with cider tasting 6-7pm.
Unfortunately, I cannot teleport, and I cannot be in two places at once. I wish I could attend the opening in Richmond, VA tonight, but I am here in Los Angeles putting the final touches on my three installations for TRYST and NOMAD. I’ll be in Torrance all weekend, hoping to make new connections and friendships with artists and curators.
TRYST is an art fair for independent galleries, bringing together 66 spaces led by galleries and curators looking to connect and collaborate with artists and one another. The people I met at TRYST last year have since led to exhibitions in Mexico City, Los Angeles, and now Torrance. I’m excited to be back, so come see me!
Last year at TRYST I met Mary Lai, the curator and mastermind behind Allied Special Projects. We’ve stayed connected through exhibitions at CLAVO, and later when Mary co-curated Reveal Reveal with after/time collective at Shatto Gallery. Now we get to exhibit together again in the very room where we first met, with Mary’s curatorial vision on full display in Provoke, Room 58.
My relationship with after/time collective has also continued to flourish as we exhibit together for the fifth time in just over a year. This is our second time together at TRYST, and I am so grateful to Todd Molinari for bringing me into this community and introducing me to an event I otherwise never would have known about.
This is my first time showing at NOMAD, an art fair dedicated to California artists. I’m hoping to meet collectors and curators I can continue working with over the next few years.
For a long time, I believed the ultimate goal was gallery representation, especially in the Bay Area or Los Angeles. I thought having representation was the best path to making sales and exhibiting my work. Over the past few years, though, my perspective has shifted as I’ve continued to show, promote, and sell my work independently, through independent galleries and curators, and in collaboration with alternative exhibition spaces and markets.
I think my biggest goal at NOMAD is simply to meet other artists and spend time with their work. There’s something incredibly immersive about being surrounded by so many makers in one place, and I always leave feeling inspired by the conversations, the ideas, and the generosity of creative communities.
A part of me still hopes to meet the right gallery and find representation someday. At the same time, I wonder whether it would limit the freedom and flexibility I’ve come to value in building my practice on my own terms.
So I’m going into NOMAD with an open mind, excited to see what unfolds. If you’re here this weekend, you’ll probably find me wandering between the third and fifth floors.
Meanwhile, I feel fully represented by the team at Crone House in Richmond, VA. They took a stack of 22×30 and 18×24 inch cyanotypes and transformed them into Wild & Soft at Blue Bee Cider. Sylvia Mallory of Crone House truly took on this project, managing the cross-country communication and collaboration, securing the venue, finding a framer, coordinating the framing, and marketing the exhibition locally. I am incredibly grateful to her and still a little in disbelief that we pulled it all off.
If you’re in the Richmond area, please stop by and see Wild & Soft. All works are for sale and will be on view through September 30.
Thank you for your continued support and for coming along this journey with me!
xoxo Katharine