Holding Up 1/2 the Sky
Organized by Jill Moniz
October 27 - December 15, 2018 Opening reception: October 27th, 6-8pm   Conceived as an exploration of the diverse media of contemporary sculpture in Los Angeles and made possible in part by Betye Saar’s revolutionary use of materials and expansion of intention, Holding Up 1/2 the Sky investigates how the dimensionality of sculpture lends itself to feminine thought, particularly as it manifests in the intersectionality of aesthetics, narrative and meaning. The exhibition brings together women artists whose abstract sculptures operate in call and response to Saar’s installation Something Blue, currently on view in the neighboring exhibition space.  Echiko Ohira, Karen Hampton, Mika Cho, Blue McRight, Kyungmi Shin, Victoria May, Chenhung Chen, Lisa Bartleson, Adrienne DeVine, Maria Larsson, Rebecca Niederlander, Cole James, Camilla Taylor and Alexis Slickelman employ wood, clay, wire, glass, sound, fabric, paper and other matter to delve into the ways which materiality and divine energies converge. Well-known Los Angeles-based artists Ohira, Cho and Shin share space with less recognized artists who have a large national footprint despite practicing in the west coast, especially Hampton and Larsson. Emerging artists James, Taylor and Slickelman emphasize how the contributions and confluence of multiple generations of women remain necessary for the fundamental practice of art and life.  Emphasizing Los Angeles as a dynamic and instrumental force behind three-dimensional narrative art, the artists in Holding Up 1/2 the Sky combine material and meaning into a complex visual language of beauty, weight, and allegory. The work is the antithesis of conceptual; here, the aesthetic object holds equal significance with meaning. Their sculptures capture the interaction between the physical construct and the emotional resonance of seeing and knowing. Intention pulses through these works, from form to titles like Sounds of the Southand Weight of the Woman, that echo the emotional and political tension of Saar’s assemblages.  Holding Up 1/2 the Sky sculptures stand in contrast and conversation with Something Blue. Guest curator jill moniz eschewed assemblage artists, choosing instead to focus on abstraction so as to highlight the linguistic intersections with Saar’s practice. These considerations reify visual art as communal memory, and it is by holding up half the sky that humanity accesses the wisdom, nourishment and creativity we need to survive and thrive.  Holding Up 1/2 the Skyis organized by independent curator jill moniz, PhD.A roundtable discussion organized in conjunction with the exhibition will feature artists Lisa Bartleson, Chenhung Chen, Cole James, and Kyungmi Shin with curator jill monizon November 17, 2018 at 1pm.     For additional information, please contact Camille Weiner: 323.549.0223, [email protected]

Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11:00am - 6:00pm.  

Roberts Projects is located between Fairfax Avenue and La Cienega Boulevard.  Parking is available on the street and at Dunn Edwards located 1/2 block east of the gallery