Euphrat exhibit provides ‘Sources of Solace’
Like last year, attendees of the Silicon Valley Reads kickoff event on Jan. 28 can in the same evening view the Euphrat Museum of Art’s exhibit highlighting the theme of the featured books. Unlike last year, they’ll do so via a few mouse clicks instead of by walking across the De Anza College campus.
The theme of this year’s Silicon Valley Reads, an event designed to encouraged people in Santa Clara County to read books and join conversations about them, is “Connecting.” The Euphrat’s virtual exhibit, “Sources of Solace,” is divided into four galleries that explore what makes us feel more connected to life and each other in challenging times.
Nature and Healing
Time in nature, cultural foods and herbal remedies are ancient sources of comfort and healing.
Spending time in nature is an integral part of environmental artist Linda Gass’s life. Her work, “Wetlands Dream Revisited,” depicts an imagined landscape, how Bair Island in the San Francisco Bay would appear if restored to its wild and natural state.
“The wilderness is where I go to find magic and refresh my perspective on life,” Gass writes in her artist’s statement. “Surrounded by tall trees and mountains, I am reminded of my place on this earth: I am a guest here.”
Yolanda Guerra’s painting of Central Park birdwatcher Christian Cooper highlights the fact that spending time in nature isn’t always the same experience for everyone when
racism and unconscious bias impact our lives.
Photos of cultural comfort foods made during the
pandemic include a Karen Chow family favorite, “George’s Red Bean Soup” with fresh mango, and
photographer Andy Nguyen’s “Trái Bâu Soup,” made with a homegrown gourd delivered to his porch by his aunt.
Narsiso Martinez’s paintings and mixed media installations honor farmworkers and the essential work they do. He draws from his own experience as a farmworker and focuses on the people performing labors necessary to fill produce sections and restaurant kitchens around the country.
Yarrow, yerba mansa, lobelia and other native medicinal plants are featured in a poster series by Pantea Karimi. She received a 2020 Holding the Moment art award from the City of San Jose to create this series reflecting on the aftermath of COVID-19. They’re on display at the San Jose Mineta
Airport, International Terminal B, through April.
Expression and Connection
Expressing grief and joy and seeking connection are essential parts of the human experience. We are hardwired for connection.
Juliana Kang-Robinson’s work conveys the sense of isolation and longing for connection that so many have experienced during the pandemic. She alludes to separation both in her ancestral homeland of Korea and to current events.
Illustrations by Rafael López from a featured children’s book, “Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood,” tell the story of how he and his partner Candice
López designed the Urban Art Trail in San Diego and transformed their neglected neighborhood into a place of beauty.
Melanie Cervantes uses bold text, patterns and imagery to create silkscreen prints with messages like, “You Are Never Alone,” “Your Ancestors Are Always with You” and “The World is Better with You in It.”
Mutual Rescue
Our pets have provided comfort and companionship when everyday hugs and handshakes were no longer safe.
“Mutual Rescue: How Adopting A Homeless Animal Can Save You, Too,” a featured book, tells the moving stories of people and animals rescuing each other. Photographs drawn from Mutual Rescue films include Tracy Campion and her dog Jack. When they separately suffered extreme injuries, together they managed to heal each other.
Interconnected
Using colored stickers on black paper with blacklights, artist Michele Guieu and community participants created glowing plankton soup murals at various South Bay locations. Another installation at The Tech Interactive is made of hundreds of petri dishes containing plankton images stamped with bio-ink grown at the museum’s Bio Tinkering Lab. Plankton is a great connector on Earth, providing over 50% of the oxygen we breath.
Visit Euphrat’s website at www.deanza.edu/euphrat to view “Sources of Solace” through April 30.