Far

I am happy to announce that I will have an exhibition titled Far at the Moorpark College Art Gallery on view from November 21, 2013-January 20, 2014. 

My artist talk will take place on Wednesday, December 4, 1p.m. in the Campus Center Conference Room.  The following is the press release:

Moorpark College Art Gallery

Administration Bldg.

7075 Campus Road

Moorpark, CA 91320

Gallery hours: Mon. - Thurs., 9a.m.-7p.m. & Fri., 9a.m.-12 noon

Contact: Erika Lizée, elizee@vcccd.edu

Moorpark College Art Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Sophia Allison. In Far, the Los Angeles-based, multi-media artist offers an autobiography of sewn landscapes and works on paper. The work is directly connected to and inspired by the organic surroundings of her childhood home in the mountains of Western North Carolina and her current home in Los Angeles. Far alludes to not only the physical distance of familiar locations but also the emotional aspects of memories attached to specific places.

Her recent works on paper are collaged abstracted landscapes. Allison paints acrylic on both sides of a piece of watercolor paper and allows it dry directly on her studio floor. As the paper dries, dirt, grit and grime from the floor attach to the painting, creating variable textures. The paper is then cut down into pieces for the collage works. The forms within these works undulate and flow, creating movement in the images that loosely resemble various mountain topography. The works are created from Allison's memory of local physical terrain.

In her sewn pictorials, Allison places a printed image on fabric and repetitively sews through the paper, forcing it into the cloth fibers while simultaneously destroying the paper. Parts of the image are recreated with thread on the opposite side of the material. The effect is two-fold: on one side, the landscape is clearly articulated; on the other, the paper image is obliterated, leaving loose threads and uneven textures. The image is simultaneously destroyed and built up; it is recognized as a snapshot of a specific location and at the same time it becomes fragmented and abstracted.

An artist lecture will be held on Wed., Dec. 4 at 1p.m. In the Campus Center Conference Room.