WABI SABI: impermanence, imperfection and the accidental
March 15th - April 12th, 2014
Alter Space Gallery
1158 Howard Street
SF, CA 94103
Participating Artists:
Timothy Armstrong
Alexis Arnold
Jennifer Brandon
Caroline Hayes Charuk
Adam Donnelly & David Janesko
Alicia Escott
Rodney Ewing
Laura Boles Faw
Peter Foucault & Chris Treggiari
Julia Goodman
Clint Imboden
Kim Kei
Kija Lucas
Kent Manske & Eric Kneeland
Nigel Poor
Zachary Royer Scholz
Dimitra Skandali
Claudia Tennyson
Tobias Tovera
Rhonda Weppler & Trevor Mahovsky
Wabi Sabi is a Japanese school of aesthetics inspired by Taoist and Buddhist philosophies that embraces the timeworn, the weathered, and the accidental. Asymmetry, irregularity, economy, and intimacy are key aspects; beauty waits to be discovered in the unpredictable and evolving nature of materials and form.
These ideas stand in contrast to the seamless perfection of design and built-in obsolescence that characterize the current tech-centric era. Wabi Sabi celebrates historicity by highlighting the cracks and crevices left by use. It is temporal, reflecting mortality and humanity by focusing upon the fragility and mutability of life. Accidental fissures pierce the veneer of the seemingly finished and complete. Layers of decay and erosion create visual maps of experience.
