Beyond/Within, a two-person exhibition featuring the sculptures of Samuelle Richardson and the textile paintings of Joy Ray, opens Saturday, September 7 at LAUNCH LA. Curated by Andi Campognone, Beyond/Within explores the influence of seen and unseen forces in contemporary society, raising questions of power, control and belief.
Both artists use textiles to create a contemporary narrative that is less feminist than it is radical craft. With paint and needle, the works in this show are familiar but unexpected, subversive in their relationship with textile arts.
Samuelle Richardson’s sculptures portray lesser beings that confront larger adversaries. She emphasizes handmade quality in her structures, pairing rough wood with the crush and pull of fabric, and embraces flaws in the materials. While her works are based in true anatomy, she favors believability over realism.
Joy Ray’s “Post-apocalyptic Petroglyphs” evoke artifacts from a mysterious, vanished civilization. Her textile paintings grapple with the tantalizingly unknowable: secret codes, sinister conspiracies, dark rituals, the occult.
The artists complement each other with their mutual interest in textiles as sculptural materials, with nods to Arte Povera, radical crafting and mid-century minimalism, defying and transcending art-vscraft paradigms.
Beyond/Within at LAUNCH LA, September 7 through 28, opening reception September 7th.
About Joy Ray Joy Ray received her BA from Sarah Lawrence College and studied art history in Italy. Ray’s work is defined by a bold, minimalist palette and richly textured materials including twine, wool, sand and plaster. She lives and works on the Big Island of Hawaii and exhibits her work nationally. This is Joy Ray’s first major exhibition in her long-time former home of Los Angeles. http://joyrayart.com/
About Samuelle Richardson Samuelle Richardson’s exhibitions this year include a solo at MOAH Lancaster, and group shows at MOAH Lancaster and Palo Alto Art Center. In October she will complete a residency at Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, where she has been awarded the Rogers Fellowship. Samuelle Richardson lives and works at The Brewery Artist Lofts in Los Angeles. http://samuellerichardson.com/
About Andi Campognone Andi Campognone has over 30 years of arts experience in Southern California and beyond. Through AC Projects Inc., she focuses on promoting arts and culture, developing museum exhibitions, public engagement, mentoring programs and book and film publications. Campognone is also the Museum Manager/Curator for the City of Lancaster and serves on the Board of the Lancaster Museum and Public Art Foundation and the advisory boards of Start Up Art Fair Los Angeles and Los Angeles Arts Association. She is a member of ArtTable.