July 2023: 'Common Thread' Group Show, curated by griffin jing martin
About Common Thread: The broad uniting theme of this show is community. Hung on these walls is work that engages with the context of the world and community it exists in—because nothing happens in a vacuum. This wide-spanning, open-ended theme resulted in a curatorial dream.
Joyful reflections of togetherness hang alongside challenging contemplations on the topic of sharing space; particularly as that relates to our identities as people of color. Many of us are also queer people—which is to say, all of us are artists who have little choice but to live in a constant state of reconciliation with the oppressive structures built all around us; woven inextricably into our relationships with the world [and with each other].
You may have noticed a quantifiable difference in pricing, and this is because the featured artists are creating from a wide variety of credentials and years of experience. For some artists, this is their first time showing work in a gallery; for others, this is one show in a long list of accolades, but all of us share this space equally. Whatever our resumes look like, we are here in this gallery together because of friendship. The uniting theme of this show is community; in other words, the uniting theme of this show is love.
griffin jing martin is a san francisco based interdisciplinary artist. griffin’s work finds form through connection with community, reverence for the collective, and the belief that every trans person is precious and completely necessary. griffin’s work shares their transfeminine asian american perspective on togetherness and singular identity in all of their whimsical, prismatic complications. griffin’s poetry can be found in the ana, mixed rice zines, dekopon! magazine, sine theta mag, and is upcoming in foglifter journal vol. 8.1.
Nahyun Kim is a Korean-American painter living and working in San Francisco. Having immigrated to the Bay Area at age 10, her works reinterpret landscapes that exist within her through memories, familial ties, folk tales and dreams. Kim’s artistic practice redefines and expands upon symbols of empowerment that transcends the rigidity of societal expectations, so that we can rise above.
Kim earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University, and has exhibited at Glass Rice (San Francisco, CA), Swim Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Root Division (San Francisco, CA), Abrams Claghorn Gallery (Albany, CA), CounterPulse (San Francisco, CA) and Little Raven Gallery (San Francisco, CA) among others.
TRUONG TRAN is a Vietnamese-American poet, visual artist, and teacher. He is an author of eight collections of poetry, artist book, and a children's book. As a visual artist Tran is best known for mixed media pieces and light installations. His work is in private collections, and has been featured in solo gallery shows as well as museum exhibitions across the Bay Area. As a teacher, Truong Tran has over twenty years experience as a professor of Creative Writing to both graduates and undergraduates, and has mentored thousands in the community.
Carah Jo is a self taught artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They are currently based in San Francisco, California.
laika
Zayd "headbdead"
Saviida
Steve H. Vu
birdsnatch