Storytelling
Anita Arellano, Elizabeth Medrano, Vernon Pouncey, Claire Qiu
June 25th – July 13th, 2019
Opening Reception: June 27th, 5:30 PM-8 PM
Atlantic Gallery is pleased to present Storytelling, a collection of work curated by Anita Arellano.
Our history is captured in the stories we tell. The best stories don’t tell us what to think, but impel us to ask questions. The artists in this small group show – Anita Arellano, Elizabeth Medrano, Vernon Pouncey and Claire Qiu – have created images that evoke just that.
Arellano is a visual artist and educator who lives in San Francisco. Her exploration of the themes of truth, authenticity and the American community are showcased in her paintings. She is inspired to capture the vividness of these moments through light and color. Her work has been featured in galleries in New York and San Francisco. “Storytelling is how we define ourselves and how we pass on what is important to the next generation, in these paintings I am attempting to do some redefining!”
Medrano is a mixed-media sculptor and painter living and working in San Francisco. After a BFA in Sculpture from the Philadelphia College of Art (University of the Arts), Tyler School of Art, and a trip to meet her paternal family in Bogota, she moved to the Bay Area earning an MFA at SFSU as a Distinguished Graduate in Sculpture. Medrano received several grants from the California Arts Commission, a residency at Edna St. Vincent Millay Residency, taught at SFSU, as well as various other SF public and private schools. She has shown her work throughout the Bay Area in such places as the Richmond Art Center, Peninsula Museum, Chabot College, Jewish Museum of SF, De Saisset Museum in Santa Clara, and Sanchez Gallery. Elizabeth maintains a studio in San Francisco.
Pouncey was born in the tiny town of Blenheim South Carolina. Although his family migrated to Brooklyn when he was just two years old, he feels the swamps, fields and back roads are his spiritual home. He graduated from Baruch College with a BA in Graphic Design. Vernon has participated in numerous group exhibitions throughout New York City. He has studied extensively with Joseph Peller at the Art Students League of New York. Several of his paintings and drawings are in private collections. “I see the storytelling in our exhibition as extremely personal, not only for the artist but more so for the viewer. It is incumbent on the observer to extract their perceived story from each image.”
Qiu is an emerging contemporary visual artist who has obtained her art education in New York City and Florence, Italy. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Claire has always loved reading stories especially those that move her deeply. In her artistic endeavors, she strives to compose narratives that might make the viewers feel momentarily transported emotionally. That empathetic connection with another human being, however brief, means a great deal to her. In this eclectic collection of new artworks, she wishes to share a few of her tales, some short and sweet, some more somber and dramatic, and others light-hearted like a tickle.
