Maria Guzman Capron, Courtney Johnson, José Joaquin Figureroa, Nick Makanna, Sachi Moskowitz, Laura Rokas, Lindsey White
Constructed, instead?
Curated by Marcela Ariza Pardo
20th May 2016

Constructed, instead? comes from an inner conversation with Susan Sontag’s essay Against Interpretation, in which she dives into what constitutes artistic style and idiosyncratic aesthetics. The question of style –inherent or not- has been raised often but it continues firmly and obstinately in spite of its opponents. With the notion of style, comes the question of whether it is secreted or constructed, and whether this can be distinguished at all.

This exhibition engages in this dilemma whilst highlighting constructed spaces, innuendos of depth and scale, and nonsensical narrative. Through the use of synthetic materials, magic and irony, Constructed, instead? brings artists who live and work in the Bay Area in dialogue about a sense of belonging in liminal spaces, imaginary realms and visual inquiries.

“What is inevitable in a work of art is the style. To the extent that a work seems right, just, unimaginable otherwise (without loss or damage), what we are responding to is a quality of its style. The most attractive works of art are those which give us the illusion the artist had no alternatives... the greatest art seems secreted, not constructed” (Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation)