Gallery News

Embark Expansion to Open in April

We are pleased to announce that Embark Arts is expanding! Embark Gallery will be closed for the month of March for construction as we tear down our north facing wall of the gallery to extend our space to the end of the building! The gallery will grow by a couple of hundred feet gaining another window and the rest of the space will become a new conference room that will be available to rent through Fort Mason. 

We will reopen in the month of April with a celebratory juried show called Spread, named for the growing space and programming that we are rolling our this year! We look forward to sharing our new space with you as well as all of the programs we have planned for its future!

"Make America Colorful Again" Coloring Books

We're excited to announce that in conjunction with Humor US, "Make America Colorful Again" coloring books will be for sale at Embark Gallery! Artist Joey Yang will also provide a coloring station at the opening reception, as catharsis for your feelings on the upcoming election.

"I made a Donald Trump coloring book. It's badly drawn because I think it reflects his character." 

"I made a Donald Trump coloring book. It's badly drawn because I think it reflects his character." 

Read more about the project on its fundraising page, and don't miss the chance to snag one! Proceeds will benefit the International Institute of the Bay Area, a non-profit that provides high-quality, low-cost immigration legal services to the Bay Area community.

Accepted Artists | Summer 2016 Call

We are thrilled to announce the artists who will exhibit in our next three shows. Thank you to everyone who applied, to Fort Mason Center, and to our jurorsJulie Casemore (Casemore Kirkeby), Allie Haeusslein (Pier 24 Photography) and artist and writer Avram Finkelstein.

 

1. Humor Us

Opening Reception: September 9, 2016 | 5-9 pm

This exhibition is curated by Tanya Gayer (CCA), whose proposal was selected in Embark's last call for curatorial proposals.

France Viana. Hillari-ous, 2016

France Viana. Hillari-ous, 2016

Philosopher John Morreall famously defined humor as amusement that takes pleasure in a cognitive shift. The opening of this show presents a timely connection with the presidential elections, begging the question: How might emerging artists convey religious and racial discrimination, or a crippling economy, or housing costs through humor?

Artists:

Douglas Angulo | SFAI

Nathan Becka | CCA

Boris Scherbakov | Mills

Kaitlin Trataris | SFAI

France Viana | Mills

Hui Meng Wang | SFAI

Jin Zhu | UC Berkeley


2.  #simulacra

Opening Reception: November 4th, 2016 | 5-9 pm

This exhibition was juried by Julie Casemore and Allie Haeusslein.

Qian Zhao.  Offcut, the Edge, 2014-16. 

Qian Zhao.  Offcut, the Edge, 2014-16. 

We live in a visual culture in which it is increasingly easy to participate. Images are all-important, and are no longer mererepresentations of truth. This photography show is an exploration of reality vs model, signs, place, and memory.v

If no one Instagrams it...did it ever really happen?

Artists:

Mike Cole | UC Davis

Shaghayegh Cyrous | CCA

Shisi Huang | SFAI

Jacqueline Sherlock Norheim | Mills

Tamara Porras | CCA

Marcela Pardo Ariza | SFAI

Qian Zhao | CCA


3.  Get Lost

Opening Reception: January 27, 2017 | 5-9 pm

This exhibition was juried by Avram Finkelstein

Simón Garcia-Miñaur. Welcome to Introduction to Fractal Sex, 2015, HD video, single channel

Simón Garcia-Miñaur. Welcome to Introduction to Fractal Sex, 2015, HD video, single channel

 

Inspired by philosopher Herbert Marcuse's notion of "the great refusal," Get Lost showcases contemporary takes on queer identity politics.

By challenging the representational imagery that queer art is perhaps best known for, these artists present a new understanding of the self through displacement and absence, suggesting that queer activism in the digital age may take more nuanced forms of expression.

Artists:

Simón Garcia-Miñaur | SFAI

Izidora Leber | SFAI

Richard-Jonathan Nelson | CCA

Courtney Trouble | CCA

 

Congratulations!

 

New Crew Members Welcomed Aboard!

This summer Embark Gallery welcomes two new crew member to Embark Gallery, Nicole Lian Aponte and Christopher Squier.

To celebrate their new positions we are hosting a crew show called Above Board. 

Join us on Wednesday, August 3rd for the closing reception for Above Board and take a look at our new crew's bios below:

Nicole Lian Aponte, Education Director, is a Puerto Rican artist enthralled with the world of painting. She investigates identity, landscape, and adaptation through a process that draws parallels between her experiences of moving around an…

Nicole Lian Aponte, Education Director, is a Puerto Rican artist enthralled with the world of painting. She investigates identity, landscape, and adaptation through a process that draws parallels between her experiences of moving around and the physical actions in her work. Aponte has shown in exhibitions in California and currently has work in Dallas at Sherle Wagner Art Gallery. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California Los Angeles (2010) and a Masters in Fine Arts from the California College of Arts (2016), and is one of the recipients of the Dennis Leon and Christin Nelson scholarship (2016) as well as the Clyde & Co. Community Art Award (2015, 2016).

Christopher Squier, Programs Director, is a San Francisco-based, interdisciplinary artist working primarily with sculpture and digital media. His work explores urban infrastructure, linguistics, and material notions of place within a modern, no…

Christopher Squier, Programs Director, is a San Francisco-based, interdisciplinary artist working primarily with sculpture and digital media. His work explores urban infrastructure, linguistics, and material notions of place within a modern, nomadic way of life. Recently, he has shown in Boston, Córdoba, Prague and San Francisco, and is preparing a residency in Trondheim, Norway this summer. He received an MFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute (2015), a BA in Art from Grinnell College (2013), and currently serves as the inaugural Kadist + SFAI Fellow (2015-2016).

Accepted Artists and Curatorial Proposal

We are thrilled to announce the artists who will exhibit in our next three shows. Thank you to everyone who applied, to Fort Mason Center, and to our jurors: Kim Sajet (Director of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery), Dorothy Moss (Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery, Director of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition), and Justin Hoover (Creative Director of Arts Programming at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture).

To receive details about our events, please sign up via email here.

1. Encounters: Portraits & Identity

Opening Reception March 18th, 2016, 6-9pm. Juried by Kim Sajet and Dorothy Moss.

Artists:

Jamee Crusan | CCA

Dan Fenstermacher | SJSU

Ninh Filip | SJSU

Simona Fitcal | Stanford

Willow Griffiths | SFAI

Victoria Maidhof | SFAI

Juan Pablo Pacheco | SFAI

Lauren Ross | CCA

Hui Meng Wang | SFAI

Leila Weefur | Mills

Sarah Woodard | SFSU

Victoria Maidhof. Hotel By the Sea, 2015.

Victoria Maidhof. Hotel By the Sea, 2015.


2. CAMPUS:Interventions to Public Space

Opening Reception: May 12, 2016. 6-9pm. Juried by Justin Hoover.

Artists:

Elizabeth Bennett | Mills

Yvette Dibos | CCA

Dana Morrison and Charlie Ford | SFAI

Yvette Dibos. Part of a Performance Proposal for CAMPUS: Interventions to Public Space.

Yvette Dibos. Part of a Performance Proposal for CAMPUS: Interventions to Public Space.

 

3. Call for Curatorial Proposals

Exhibition to open in October 2016. Selected by Executive Director of Embark Gallery Tania Houtzager and Curatorial Director Angelica Jardini.

Tanya Gayer | CCA

Humor US

Philosopher John Morreall famously defined humor as amusement that takes pleasure in a cognitive shift. Indeed, much of what we find laughable allows us to think differently about people, ideas, and states of being. The exhibition Humor Us will include contemporary artistic explorations in any medium that examine humor as a positive and negative boundary between the speaker and the target of humor. 

The opening of the exhibition next fall presents a timely connection to the presidential elections and artists are encouraged to present works that reflect issues apart of American citizen concerns in a new presidential tenure.  How might young adults display religious and race discrimination, or a crippling economy, or housing costs through humor? Humor Us intends to make hearts heavy with laughter and faces hurt from smiles to approach conversations about critical issues students located in the US face today.

Congratulations from the team at Embark!

Spring 2016 Call for Artists

call for artist 3 logo.jpg

Embark Gallery seeks work by local MFA and MA students for 2 juried exhibitions and 1 curatorial proposal!

Any students currently enrolled in graduate programs related to the arts at the following institutions are eligible to apply for one or all calls: California College of the Arts, Mills College, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, San Jose University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley and UC Davis.

Entry Requirements

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: January 4, 2016.

Selected artists will be notified by February 3, 2016.

Applicants will apply for each exhibition via the related SlideRoom link or visit our application portal HERE to apply to multiple shows.


 1. Encounters: Portraits and Identity

A response to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s 2016 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition juried by Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture, Dorothy Moss and Director of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet.

Call for artworks that capture an aspect of identity-- whether personal, familial, cultural, political or otherwise. Like the guidelines for the Competition, the subject of the artwork may be anyone: a friend, stranger, relative, yourself- but must be the result of the artist’s direct encounter with that person. Artists are invited to interpret the concept of portraiture broadly, and artworks of any medium will be considered, including performance.

This exhibition will run from March 18-April 30, 2016.


APPLY HERE FOR ENCOUNTERS: PORTRAITS AND IDENTITY

 2. CAMPUS: Interventions to Public Space

Embark Gallery partners with Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture to present "CAMPUS: Interventions to Public Space." 

This exhibit takes Embark’s contemporary and cutting-edge programming outside of the gallery, and onto the Fort Mason campus. This call is for site-specific installations and/or performances that engage the public space of Fort Mason Center. Existing work and detailed project proposals will be accepted. Project proposals should include a detailed description with installation plan and a drawing and/or reference images of proposed or similar past artwork.

Priority will be given to artists who respond specifically to their location, and to work that encourages audience action and participation. Artwork may address the history, architecture or location of Fort Mason Center, a formal military port, as well as questions over public and private space, federal and civic entities (FMC is owned by the National Park Service), sociopolitical and cultural changes in San Francisco, the Bay, Pacific Ocean, or environmental issues-- as long as the installation and/or performance responds specifically to the site, all interpretations on the theme will be considered.

There are 3 available spaces and you may apply to 1 or more in the following sections.

The show will run from May 12, 2016-June 4, 2016, and coincides with the San Francisco International Arts Festival. 

APPLY HERE FOR CAMPUS: INTERVENTIONS TO PUBLIC SPACE

3. Call for Curatorial Proposals

Embark is excited to announce our first call for curatorial proposals! Open to both MFA and MA students with a focus on art history, curatorial or museum studies, or other similar programs.

Please submit a 250-500 word proposal for an exhibition to take place at Embark Gallery. Proposals should take into account past programming at Embark, and propose a novel exhibition. The call for artists may not exclude any individual on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age or ability. The proposal must be broad enough that it is feasible for anyone to apply. Curators should plan to exhibit 4-10 artists from at least 3 different schools. Proposals broad enough to diversify the applicant pool will be given priority. Proposals already focused on specific artists cannot be considered.

We encourage proposals that consider current discourse surrounding contemporary art practices, theory or history, but take on a new perspective. As part of Embark’s mission to expand the audience for up and coming contemporary art, we advise against proposals that are so academic as to be inaccessible to the public.

Aside from these guidelines, proposals for a show of any medium, theme or subject matter will be considered. The winning proposal will be included in Embark’s mid-year call for artists and the show will be presented in the fall. The author of the winning proposal will join the Executive and Curatorial Directors of Embark in selecting artists after submissions for our next call are received, in July 2016. This meeting can be held both virtually or in person.

APPLY HERE WITH A CURATORIAL PROPOSAL

Please contact us at info@embarkgallery.com with any questions or concerns

As always, we look forward to your submissions!

Technophilia Artist Talks

Embark Gallery is proud to announce this schedule of lectures by participating artists in our current exhibition Technophilia:

Chistopher Nickel: Songlines

10.31.15 @ 2pm
In this presentation, Christopher Nickel will use his photographs of fiber-optic cables as a starting point to discuss contemporary information and communications networks as a physical entity. Through a brief telling of the history and present of these networks, Christopher will describe how he hopes his on-going project can begin to address the relationship between the physical and the virtual worlds, and hint at the symbolic potential within our contemporary culture of the sites and structures that constitute these networks.

Heather Murphy: The Meaning of Searching, or, Searching for Meaning

11.7.15 @ 2pm

New media artist Heather Murphy discusses her most recent project, and how it relates to our never-ending online search for love, jobs, and housing. Expect memes, gifs, pop culture references, plenty of screenshots, and a sprinkle of art theory to come into play as Murphy explains her thoughts on how the internet has changed both what we want, and how we get it.

Irene Chou: Static Bodies

11.14.15 @ 2pm

My intention in Static Bodies is to provide an alternative perspective on what it means to be connected in the digital age. As far back as my memory goes, sound is a phenomenon to which I have been deeply drawn. The most powerful thing about sound is how it awakens us to the intelligence of our bodies, to our abilities to simply feel. Through my work, I too strive to connect with people on that emotional level: to create things that are first felt - and then perhaps understood. Static Bodies is a sound piece which cannot be heard unless both participants are physically touching.