7 Warrior Women
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Gamut Gallery is pleased to announce a collaborative exhibition, 7 Warrior Women, produced by artist Kristi Abbott opening on March 31, 2018.
Inspired to push the boundaries of her technique and subject matter, Abbott led a group of local artists to create a collection of works that center around seven imagined and embodied figures—women from each of the Earth’s seven continents. These mystical and bold feminine characters represent the strength and energy of women around the world and across time. These figures, imagined through costume elements, photographs, paintings, world maps, and other elements, carry certain cultural markers distinctive to their geography and heritage, but their power and beauty speak universally to the essence of the feminine.
Abbott, a native to Australia, carefully forms intricate portraits out of varying types and textures of paper for her collage work. Her portraits are often embedded with hidden images, “small secrets” relating back to some part of the personality or biography of the individual, unlocking their story one detail at a time. Contributing artists include Yuya Negishi, Sarah Epperson, RJ Kern, Kada of Artful Eclectic, and six local models. Negishi, a Japanese mural artist who works with traditional and contemporary imageries, created the spray painted backdrops for each piece, as well as several smaller complimentary pieces that will be presented alongside the seven warriors. Epperson is a tattoo artist, painter, and maker, who contributed to the exhibition through her tattoo-like body paintings adorning each warrior, and created the headdresses and face paint worn by several of the women.
Negishi and Epperson work in a similar way to Abbott, drawing on narrative and conducting thorough research that serves to inform their flowing, energetic images. Kern, a fine art photographer, skillfully captured the essence of strength in the seven warrior women who were directed by Abbott at a recent photo shoot for the project, while Kada translated Abbott’s concepts through makeup and body paint containing iconic imagery on several of the women for the shoot. Those images served as a building block in the creation of the collages, one of the many layers and steps in a thoughtfully choreographed process. The final result is a powerful body of work that illustrates Abbott’s exceptional talent with this dynamic and fresh approach to collage art and collaboration.
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EXHIBIT OPENING
Saturday, March 31st, 7-11pm
$5 admission // FREE with Gamut Gallery Membership
ARTIST TALK
Saturday, April 14th, 2-4pm, FREE
Learn more about the process of creating 7 Warrior Women from Kristi Abbott, along with contributing artists Yuya Negishi and Sarah Epperson.
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