Back to First Friday in Oakland Johansson Projects

First Friday: ANNA FIDLER + CATHY LU | HER KIND

Mar 1 —

Cathy Lu and Anna Fidler shape new myths surrounding characters of the past. With bright colors, topographic energy portraits sculpted from layers of paper, and misshapen ceramic imitations, their works declare a distinctly feminine revolution.

Inspired by the ancient Chinese myth of the Immortal Peach Garden, where peaches represent longevity and prosperity, and combining that with the sexualized symbols that they are in American pop culture, Lu transforms these peaches into beautifully grotesque, other worldly forms. Bright bold colors draw the viewer in closer, only to realize the fruits are fermenting – existing in the space between good and bad.

Fidler is a conduit for energy, narrating the force emitted from a person or place. She creates portraits of women who reside among the trees, train to battle future catastrophe, and stand guard of their world seated upon stoic horses. Their riotous dances and open armed gestures speak to connection with one another and the land, hands held high in praise and determination for independence. These figures Fidler paints are feminists– derived from Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, and Isadora Duncan—those who have influenced the way we think, write, and move, those with radiant energy that push the world forward, those with vision to help reshape the world.

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