T H E L I L Y T O O S H A L L F U N C T I O N Studio AHEAD and The Jones Institute present a new exhibition of three Northern Californian artists brought together for the first time: Nathan Lynch (clay), John Gnorski (woodblock, paper), and Jessica Switzer Green (wool). Each artist has a history of being commissioned by design firm Studio AHEAD to create functional pieces for the studio's clients. The result is pieces that not only represent the places where they were made but also the lifestyles and practices of those who made them.
From his studio in San Geronimo, Lynch creates clay sculptures at once alluring and strange, and looking like they’re melting back into the earth they were molded from. These works, with their humorous acceptance of decay and folly, represent a mind at peace with its surroundings. In Gnorski’s woodblock prints, inspired by the open fields of Point Reyes, figures sleep in flower beds and dream idly; while his lanterns, made of washi paper and resembling birds, illuminate the slow passing of the day as they alight on bed stands. Jessica Switzer Green lives among the sheep pastures of Sonoma. Her woolworks, including a series of large floor pillows made in collaboration with Studio AHEAD, also on display, come from a desire to use the woolen fleece of her flocks. These pieces leave in the natural textures and tones of each season’s wool, reminding us, in their unprocessed state, of humankind’s ancient bond with the animal world.
This two-part exhibition is split between The Jones Institute Main Gallery, where the commissioned pieces are on display, and The Jones Institute at Minnesota Street Project, where videos of the three artists in their studios are being screened.
When: 11.3.23-1.28.2024
Where: The Jones Institute Main Gallery 963 Hayes St. SF (main exhibition)
The Jones Institute at Minnesota Street Project 1275 Minnesota St. SF (film screening until 11/28)
S A M E B L U E A S T H E S K Y was a month-long exhibition that brought together the work of eleven historical and contemporary artists from Northern California. Working across a range of mediums – sculpture, photography, painting – these artists continue a tradition in which aesthetics, innovation, and place are seen as inextricable.
The art of Northern California is informed by the natural and cultural landscapes of the region: a juxtaposition of natural and urban, new and old, utopian and traditional; while the coastline is a reminder of life always on the edge: not as periphery but as frontier. Northern California's position away from the historic centers of the art world has allowed its artists the freedom to dream and live on their own terms.
When: 01.18.23-02.18.23
Where: Four One Nine 419 Tenth St. San Francisco