Gray Loft Gallery: 10 Connect: A group show of ten artists

Thursday, March 29, 2012

10 Connect: A group show of ten artists

Show dates: April 13 - May 25, 2012
Opening reception: 2nd Friday, April 13, 6 - 9 pm
Closing party/reception: May 25, 6 - 9 pm
Weekend dates: Saturdays from 2 - 6 pm and by appointment
This event is free and open to the public

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the first live-work building for artists in Oakland’s Jingletown Community. 10 Connect, an exhibition at Gray Loft Gallery, shows the remarkable work of ten artists who helped pave the way for a distinctive, flourishing arts community. The artists featured in 10 Connect – all women – have all been or currently are residents of the original building.

In addition to carving physical spaces in which to work, artist communities forge relationships that encourage the commitment needed to make art. The artists showcased in 10 Connect bring to the exhibition three decades of this type of shared support, while maintaining a diversity of style, medium and philosophy. The group participates in informal critiques and discussions that afford the opportunity for each artist to not only develop her unique visual language, but also allay feelings of isolation correlated (by virtue of the solitude necessary to work) with being an artist. 10 Connect will therefore examine how enduring friendships shape creative practice and determine both the physical and abstract places where artwork finds home. Further, 10 Connect investigates an ongoing, intellectual sense of place and explores how these friendships inform the work of these women artists.

While each artist is accomplished in her own right and works from an individual identity, 10 Connect will speak to the significant role that the renowned Jingletown Community has had on these ten artists living and working in the Bay Area. This group show will include work from:

Suzy Barnard, painting
Ruth Boerefijn, mixed media installation
Leslie Frierman Grunditz, painting and mixed media
Lynn McGeever, painting
Susan Moyski, sculpture
Susan Parish, sculpture
Amy Sollins, drawing
Andrea Voinot, painting
Jan Watten, photography
Karyn Yandow, photography

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The Gray Loft Gallery celebrates the phenomenal achievements of emerging and established artists, with an emphasis on those who live and work in the Bay Area. The newly-opened Gray Loft Gallery is a unique venue located on the 3rd floor of one of Oakland’s oldest artists’ warehouses.

(click on any image to view slide show)