Berkeley Art Center, Suspended Matter, October 30, 2021 - January 15, 20222
Featuring: Julia Goodman, Asma Kazmi, Laura Arminda Kingsley, Jenifer K Wofford
Curated by Patricia Cariño Valdez
Suspended Matter borrows its title from the environmental definition of an occurrence where tiny organisms, plants, and minerals naturally exist within a liquid or due to disruption such as heavy rainfall or a flood. The mixing of these particles creates a new composition, one that does not dissolve. The exhibition refracts our contemporary moment to examine the sentiments and materiality of these unsettled times. Through sculpture, video, photography, and paintings, the artists consider the intimate connections within ourselves, with others, and the domestic objects that shape our surroundings.
From the reconstitution of familiar fabrics into abstract shapes, as seen in Goodman’s sculptures, to a close examination of the domestic objects that we interact with in Kazmi’s work, the artists recognize the shifting interactions with our values, beliefs and the everyday objects that we keep. The otherworldly biological fictions by Kingsley and Wofford’s depictions of solitude and isolation remind us of the constant revaluation of our existence and our resilience in relation to the past and present. Collaborating closely with Berkeley Art Center, Valdez curated Suspended Matter as a dedication to her mother, a love letter to encapsulate the challenging past years. The artists in Suspended Matter, together with the curator, honor a time of respite during turbulent times, offering a moment for awareness, wonder, and hope.
