Clare Olivares' "Still Point - Acts in Natural History" opened today. Visitors quietly considered the lives and deaths of birds, reptiles, and rodents, as they perused a colorful hanging library of re-contextualized specimens.About the show:
Clare Olivares is an Oakland artist. The Still Point series reflects her interest in natural history and her experiments with plaster and color. With emphasis on stillness, these pieces incorporate photographs Olivares took of biological specimens when she worked at the University of California’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
“Working at the museum I would randomly open the specimen cabinets to see what was inside. The small rodent and bird specimens evoked mystery and elegy. The beauty of the specimens moved me; there was a poignant quietness to them. These works speak to the fragility of stillness.”
Words from T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Four Quartets, inform these pieces:
At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshness; Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is, But neither arrest nor movement.
About the artist:
Clare Olivares was born and raised in California’s San Joaquin Valley. She earned her undergraduate degrees in studio art and art history from Cal and her MFA in painting from Mills College. At Mills College Olivares continued art history coursework with an emphasis on Eastern art. This led to a trip to India that proved pivotal for Olivares’ artwork. She began exploring the symbolic and spiritual qualities of color. Color continues to play an important role in all of Olivares’ work. She has exhibited nationally and internationally including at the University of San Francisco, Richmond Art Center, Museum Without Walls, Alexandria Museum of Art, Laguna Gloria Art Museum and Gallery Irohani. Olivares lives in Oakland. www.clareolivares.com
Join us at the Mauve Office for a closing reception Friday, July 20th at 7pm, to share animal eulogies.
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