Group Exhibition: Proof of Life
Maya Fuji, Harlan Hue, Isabella Innis & Valentín Gatica
Dates: November 9 - December 7, 2024
Reception: November 9 | 6-9 PM
Glass Rice is proud to present Proof of Life, a group exhibition featuring paintings by four artists’ documenting the varying forms of our everyday. Engulfed in color, Maya Fuji, Harlan Hue, Isabella Innis and Valentín Gatica depict semblances of existence. From saturated abstract floral bouquets to an aerial view of ornate hands chopping okra, each artist offers a prismatic look into the evidence of life.
Maya Fuji (San Francisco, CA) is inspired by both her cultural heritage and the exploration of the liminal space she lives in as an issei (first-generation) mixed-race woman in the United States. She is fascinated by traditional Japanese mythology and folklore, as well as Showa and Heisei–era subcultures, and expands on these themes within the context of her personal experiences. A recurring theme in her work is the exploration of what forms our sense of identity, and how that can shift during one’s lifetime on account of generations living abroad. Imbuing the complexity of being multicultural, multinational, and multiracial is central to her works, as her paintings contrast the nostalgia of childhood memories with underlying feelings of being a foreigner simultaneously navigating Japanese and American communities.
In Proof of Life, Fuji’s painting presents a close up composition of hands delicately chopping okra. She transforms a seemingly mundane task into an extravagant scene. Beautifully embellished nails wielding a sharp blade with decorative rhinestones rejuvenates this universally common act.
Harlan Hue (Los Angeles, CA) is an American artist working predominantly with oil paint and fiber. Hue reinterprets found imagery along with more personal imagery taken of friends and family. Often dissecting, zooming in, and cropping, Hue examines each image in an attempt to better understand the subject. After cutting the painting into smaller more manageable pieces, Hue then sews the canvas back together to form a slightly distorted version of the original, a practice heavily informed by his mother’s quilting practice.
For this exhibition, Hue captures two scenes of shoes as the subject. In one, a cropped view of a figure’s legs crossed at the ankles with a wad of cash pinched between the shoes becomes the focal point. Painted entirely in a single hue of deep royal purple with only the subtle sewn thread details on the lines of the socks adds an element of uncanniness to what would otherwise be considered an ordinary scene. Similarly in his other painting of a row of brightly colored blue botas picudas (a style of pointed fashion boots originating in rural Mexico) set amongst a deserted desert landscape also leaves viewers questioning what could come next.
Isabella Innis (Los Angeles, CA) uses texture and layers within her abstract paintings to explore the multiple realms of nostalgia, at times sentimental, at times playful, yet both evoking the joy and grief of passing time. Reminiscent forms juxtapose with chaotic charcoal lines and lyrical color gradients, connecting shared histories to the personal through constellations of color, line, and shape.
In her unique style of mark making, Innis creates joyous and abundant compositions influenced by floral forms. Lush texture paired with an array of colors quite literally give life to these abstract flowers; becoming animated bouquets bound by the canvas they are contained by.
Valentín Gatica (San Francisco, CA) offers an ambiguous and playful look into the impact of consumerism through his work. With series that delve into the constant bombardment of brands and design, he uncovers the psychology behind commercial identities and their colors. His art reinvents familiar images, celebrating the global and regional multicultural society with a mix of humor and irreverence.
In this exhibition, Gatica created a pair of paintings, one of a fountain symbol laid on top of a floral composition and the other of the same image, however, this time as a crumbled up wrapper. Fountains have long been emblems of life, renewal, and transformation. Gatica’s work in tandem to represent two sides of a singular coin. In his own words “The double composition represents the source in two different ways. While one exposes a simplified symbol contained in a detailed background, the other simplifies the background detailing the central figure. I aim to express the one source of life from two diverse yet coexisting perspectives: the complexity of life and the beauty of simple things whilst its nature can be fragile and disposable, so the source may become simply ruined.”
Maya Fuji, Harlan Hue, Isabella Innis & Valentín Gatica
Dates: November 9 - December 7, 2024
Reception: November 9 | 6-9 PM
Glass Rice is proud to present Proof of Life, a group exhibition featuring paintings by four artists’ documenting the varying forms of our everyday. Engulfed in color, Maya Fuji, Harlan Hue, Isabella Innis and Valentín Gatica depict semblances of existence. From saturated abstract floral bouquets to an aerial view of ornate hands chopping okra, each artist offers a prismatic look into the evidence of life.
Maya Fuji (San Francisco, CA) is inspired by both her cultural heritage and the exploration of the liminal space she lives in as an issei (first-generation) mixed-race woman in the United States. She is fascinated by traditional Japanese mythology and folklore, as well as Showa and Heisei–era subcultures, and expands on these themes within the context of her personal experiences. A recurring theme in her work is the exploration of what forms our sense of identity, and how that can shift during one’s lifetime on account of generations living abroad. Imbuing the complexity of being multicultural, multinational, and multiracial is central to her works, as her paintings contrast the nostalgia of childhood memories with underlying feelings of being a foreigner simultaneously navigating Japanese and American communities.
In Proof of Life, Fuji’s painting presents a close up composition of hands delicately chopping okra. She transforms a seemingly mundane task into an extravagant scene. Beautifully embellished nails wielding a sharp blade with decorative rhinestones rejuvenates this universally common act.
Harlan Hue (Los Angeles, CA) is an American artist working predominantly with oil paint and fiber. Hue reinterprets found imagery along with more personal imagery taken of friends and family. Often dissecting, zooming in, and cropping, Hue examines each image in an attempt to better understand the subject. After cutting the painting into smaller more manageable pieces, Hue then sews the canvas back together to form a slightly distorted version of the original, a practice heavily informed by his mother’s quilting practice.
For this exhibition, Hue captures two scenes of shoes as the subject. In one, a cropped view of a figure’s legs crossed at the ankles with a wad of cash pinched between the shoes becomes the focal point. Painted entirely in a single hue of deep royal purple with only the subtle sewn thread details on the lines of the socks adds an element of uncanniness to what would otherwise be considered an ordinary scene. Similarly in his other painting of a row of brightly colored blue botas picudas (a style of pointed fashion boots originating in rural Mexico) set amongst a deserted desert landscape also leaves viewers questioning what could come next.
Isabella Innis (Los Angeles, CA) uses texture and layers within her abstract paintings to explore the multiple realms of nostalgia, at times sentimental, at times playful, yet both evoking the joy and grief of passing time. Reminiscent forms juxtapose with chaotic charcoal lines and lyrical color gradients, connecting shared histories to the personal through constellations of color, line, and shape.
In her unique style of mark making, Innis creates joyous and abundant compositions influenced by floral forms. Lush texture paired with an array of colors quite literally give life to these abstract flowers; becoming animated bouquets bound by the canvas they are contained by.
Valentín Gatica (San Francisco, CA) offers an ambiguous and playful look into the impact of consumerism through his work. With series that delve into the constant bombardment of brands and design, he uncovers the psychology behind commercial identities and their colors. His art reinvents familiar images, celebrating the global and regional multicultural society with a mix of humor and irreverence.
In this exhibition, Gatica created a pair of paintings, one of a fountain symbol laid on top of a floral composition and the other of the same image, however, this time as a crumbled up wrapper. Fountains have long been emblems of life, renewal, and transformation. Gatica’s work in tandem to represent two sides of a singular coin. In his own words “The double composition represents the source in two different ways. While one exposes a simplified symbol contained in a detailed background, the other simplifies the background detailing the central figure. I aim to express the one source of life from two diverse yet coexisting perspectives: the complexity of life and the beauty of simple things whilst its nature can be fragile and disposable, so the source may become simply ruined.”