Statement
Survival of the Unexpected: Featuring new work from Kassandra Palmer, Anne Stevens, & Kelly Justice. Online Exclusive exhibition runs June 5th- Aug 31st 2021.
Press Release
James May Gallery is pleased to present: Survival of the Unexpected: a group show featuring new work by Anne Stevens, Kassandra Palmer, and Kelly Justice.
Palmer:
Kassandra Palmer’s work consists of small predicaments that freely oscillate between figuration and abstraction. Beacons that point to the survival of the unexpected, each of her constructions
is an excavated artifact from the wilderness of a mind. Being both lonesome and playful, each of these paradoxical propositions is like an echo that rings true but does not compute.
Kassandra was born in Fairfield, California and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 2013, she graduated summa cum laude from Santa Clara University with a degree in physics, and in 2018, she earned an MFA degree from the University of Iowa’s program in painting and drawing. Kassandra has exhibited her work throughout the United States, and she is currently based out of Madison, Wisconsin.
Justice:
My work begins as a collage, parts and pieces of found objects compiled together. I am constantly on the look-out for alluring shapes, patterns and textures for potential use: vintage glassware from thrift stores, old light fixtures from architectural salvage shops, plastic food canisters, silicone mats for rolling out cake fondant. Through the processes of mold-making and slipcasting, I alter these objects and compose them into new forms. I use a combination of intensely colored porcelains and glazes to activate the forms, superimposing patterns over textures, and contrasting glossy surfaces with smooth matte finishes. The surface imagery (floral motifs, sunbursts, geometric and radial designs) in bright pops of color, paired with the symmetry of the forms, serves to elicit a sense of lightheartedness and play, abundance and multiplicity. I create vibrant wares that are not only functional but exist as statement pieces in the home. Confident and assertive, these pieces brighten your living space and add a bit of joy each time they are used.
Kelly is a full-time practicing artist in Rochester, NY. Kelly received her MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University in 2015. She is originally from Marion, Arkansas.
Stevens:
My work looks at the unwritten histories of women through landscape painting and collage. I make oil paintings of invented landscapes, which I then photograph and re-purpose to create collages and prints.
History and painting marginalize women. I study in these margins, looking for women I know were there. To re-write the record, I make pictures of moments not collected in existing histories.
Anne Hayden Stevens is a painter and printmaker living outside Chicago, IL.
I have an MA in Visual Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, and a BFA in Printmaking and Drawing from California College of the Arts. I grew up in Northern California. Prior to coming to Illinois, I spent ten years in Seattle, where I taught drawing & digital media at the University of Washington.
My work ranges across painting, drawing, printmaking and public art. My work has been exhibited in Chicago at the Hyde Park Art Center, the Evanston Art Center, the Governor's State University Art Gallery, the Koehnline Museum of Art, and at the Harold Washington Library Center during Chicago Artists Month. Public art pieces are located on Rainier Avenue South in Seattle, the Seattle Municipal Tower, and the University of Washington.