FRANK-RATCHYE PROJECT SPACE - JOSHUA SOLIS
"Untitled" (Bay performance), 2020, 03m15s, Dimensions variable, $1,500 (edition 1/6)
In conjunction with Root Division’s Reflections on Exile: Evening of Performance we present the opening of Studio Artist Joshua Solis’s rigorous work in our Frank Ratchye Project Space. Solis combines sculpture, video, and performance into a multi-channel installation that showcases the artist’s laborious determination to reclaim nostalgic and traumatic memories from his past. “The beautiful Bay Area did not seem so beautiful anymore. I still remember the strong smell of oil and rubber and the gross slimy creatures crawling in the polluted waters. Initially, my work was not intended to be environmentalist. I am aware of how the human-made damage is playing a huge role throughout my performance and its strong presence cannot be denied. I feel satisfied with the outcome of my piece. I hope that my work will provide positive conscientiousness to society.”
Read more about Solis’s process and work here.
See Aún sueño | I Still Dream at Root Division Gallery February 5 - February 29, 2020. Join us for the opening reception on February 8, 7-9pm.
Joshua Solis is an Hispanic sculptural and installation artist from Santa Maria, CA. Solis is a second generation immigrant and is the first in his family with a college education. He was raised Catholic and inculcated his parents’ cultural values and traditions. He earned an MFA in Sculpture at San Francisco State University in 2017. His practice is interdisciplinary, including drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video projections, audio, and performance. Solis approaches his medium and materials according to their formal and conceptual significance. Currently, the artist has been selecting material that has a crucial significance with his past memories. The act of making, cutting, twisting, tearing, wrapping, heating, burning, and/or banging provide Solis with a sense of healing and acceptance. These labor intensive and destructive processes that are associated with violence or torture have allowed his memories to be reawakened and amplified.
