Peter Foucault artwork in NextNewPaper at the Institute of Contemporary Art in San Jose!

NextNewPaper continues the ICA’s recurring series of exhibitions dedicated to exploring emerging artists and art practices. In this iteration, 17 Bay Area artists use paper as their medium, creating works that highlight the endless ways in which this ubiquitous and seemingly innocuous material can be manipulated.

In this iteration of the NextNew series, 17 Bay Area artists use paper as their medium, creating works that highlight the endless ways that this seemingly innocuous material can be manipulated.

Originally invented in the first century, this omnipresent material continues to be a necessary resource even in this digital age. Letters, notepads, business cards, Post-its, money, utility bills and promotional flyers are all part of our everyday lives. Artists in NextNewPaper examine the numerous properties of this medium, cutting, bending, molding and otherwise manipulating it to create intimately detailed works as well as massive site-specific installations.

Joyce Nojima, Weston Teruya, and Imin Yeh explore ordinary objects such as cash register receipts, electrical outlets, and architectural elements to question our relationship to these ordinary fixtures in our daily lives. Kyong Ae Kim, Michael Buscemi, Amy Oates and Annie Vought meticulously cut paper to construct reliefs and intricate silhouettes that emphasize the play of light and shadow. The sculptures of Jann Nunn and Jacqueline Rush Lee are painstakingly assembled with hundreds of thin sheets of paper resulting in amazingly sturdy structures. Collage, mixed media, and abstract mark-making with ink, coffee, and tea (and sometimes with the help of a robot) are seen in the works of Peter Foucault, Javier Arce, Cynthia Ona Innis, Carolynn Haydu, and Michael Sell. Monica Lundy and Kirk Maxson reference leaves and plants to evoke a sense of place and reflect upon history in their nature-inspired pieces. Julia Anne Goodman examines the concept of intimacy with her newest pulped bed sheet work. With Loren King, the two collaborate to create colorful “brain maps” on hand-made paper. And, Taro Hattori’s monumental site-specific installation made of cardboard bends the dynamics of the medium in awe-inspiring ways.

Jun. 5 – Sep. 18, 2016
Main Gallery & Cardinale Project Room

Opening Reception
Sunday, June 5
Members Preview, 1pm-2pm
Public Reception, 2pm-4pm
Free admission
Add to my calendar

ICA Live – Taro Hattori
Friday, June 3
Free

Talking Art

Sunday, June 26, 3:30pm-5pm
Paper Talk

Sunday, July 17, 3:30pm-5pm
Artist Panel Discussion

Artists
Javier Arce
Michael Buscemi
Peter Foucault
Julia Anne Goodman
Taro Hattori
Carolynn Haydu
Cynthia Ona Innis
Loren King
Kyong Ae Kim
Jacqueline Rush Lee
Monica Lundy
Kirk Maxson
Joyce Nojima
Jann Nunn
Amy Oates
Michael Sell
Weston Teruya
Annie Vought
Imin Yeh

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“A Drive to Create” receives a California Arts Council Grant!

 

I’m very excited to announce that our project “A Drive To Create” has been selected to receive a CAC “Artists Activating Communities” grant! 

This mobile art making project will be traveling to locations around Walnut Creek starting in January 2017! Info on the grant is below…

Walnut Creek, CA– The California Arts Council, a state agency, announced it plans to award $13,500 to Civic Arts Education to help fund “A Drive to Create” as part of its new Artists Activating Communities program.

“A Drive to Create”, is a collaboration between Bay Area artist and curator Peter Foucault, the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education (CAE) Program and selected CAE instructors. “A Drive to Create” features a custom art-making trailer towed behind a vintage 1967 Austin Healey Sprite. This set-up will serve as a visual draw to engage residents when it arrives at sites in Walnut Creek that are identified as being underserved in the arts due to a far proximity from arts facilities or are lower income locations that might not have existing art programming. The goal of this project is to directly interact with residents who often have little access to the arts and provide quality art-making activities that can inspire them to work collaboratively. These carefully designed activities and interactions will act as a catalyst to get participants thinking about the importance of art in their community.

A new pilot grant program, Artists Activating Communities supports sustained artistic residencies in community settings, demonstrating the arts to be a central component of civic life, and artists to be vital in shaping society.  Artists Activating Communities projects are artist-driven, engage community members as active participants, and activate participants to develop and express their own creativity.

This is the first time the Artists Activating Communities program has been offered. Walnut Creeks Civic Arts Education program is one of only forty-seven grantees for this highly-competitive program, which received applications from eighty-five organizations statewide.

“California Arts Council grants support a wide range of projects that are crafted by each community to reflect their values and needs,” said Donn K. Harris, Chair of the California Arts Council. “It is thrilling to see what artists can accomplish when working collaboratively with their communities. An increased state investment in the arts allows us to further spark powerful growth and prosperity in our communities, such as the outstanding work that will result from the deep arts engagement provided by Civic Arts Education and Peter Foucault’s Artists Activating Communities project.”

To view a complete listing of all Artists Activating Communities grantees, visit http://arts.ca.gov/programs/files/CAC-AAC-2015-16Grantees.pdf.

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The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. The Council is committed to building public will and resources for the arts; fostering accessible arts initiatives that reflect contributions from all of California’s diverse populations; serving as a thought leader and champion for the arts; and providing effective and relevant programs and services. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.

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