HEATHER DAY THE HYSTERICS
SOLO EXHIBIT | OCTOBER 19 – NOVEMBER 23, 2019 OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19th 5-8pm
Stephanie Chefas Projects is pleased to present The Hysterics, a solo exhibition featuring new works by California artist Heather Day. The Hysterics opens on October 19 and will remain on view through November 23, 2019.
Building upon the spontaneous gestures and vivid colors found in Abstract Expressionism, Day approaches each canvas as a means to explore her own personal narrative. Every work bridges thought and emotion through the lens of synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon in which the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second pathway.
Day recounts, “When I’m experiencing heightened emotion, I see blurs of lush color in my peripheral vision, basically my mind interprets emotion as color. To me, it’s really there–as if I’m holding a colored filter over part of my vision. Looking straight ahead, my sight is unaffected but in the peripheries, there are rich washes of cyan, burnt orange, phthalo blues, and fuchsia.”
As the title suggests, The Hysterics is a reference to Day’s process of mark-making. Her process demands motion, requiring her entire body as she pours and pushes paint across the canvas. The canvases are subsequently drenched with water, enabling an element of vulnerability that remains essential to her work. Acting quickly, Day adds marks to the canvas and thereby allows each gesture to inform the next. An eternal dance between control and chaos ensues, climaxing with a unique and vivid creation.
“It’s moving, it’s rapid, and you can’t always predict what’s going to happen. I’m pouring the paint, I’m manipulating it, and there’s a level of understanding of what might happen as I control the fluidity of the paint or the opacity. Then there’s also the unexpected when I pour a bucket of water and it splashes everywhere.”
The opening reception for The Hysterics will be held at Stephanie Chefas Projects on Saturday, October 19th from 5-8pm. Stephanie Chefas Projects is located in Portland, Oregon at 305 SE 3rd Avenue on the second floor of the Urban Row building. The exhibition will be on view through November 23rd, 2019 and is free and open to the public.
ABOUT HEATHER DAY
Heather Day (1989) lives and works in California. She received a BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). The artist’s work has been shown in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, and Seoul, including exhibits at The Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI, and The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MOCA). She has an upcoming residency at the Vermont Studio Center, followed by a solo exhibition at Fort Wayne Museum of Art in 2020.
Day has collaborated with both Facebook and Google, creating virtual and augmented reality works that bridge the gap between art and technology. Her work is held in the private collections of Fidelity Investments, Chicago Philharmonic, The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul Hospital, JCrew, AirBnB, Dropbox, Warner Brothers, Facebook, YouTube, and Google.
ABOUT STEPHANIE CHEFAS PROJECTS
Stephanie Chefas Projects is the labor of love from its owner, Stephanie Chefas, who has been independently curating art exhibits for nearly a decade in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now calling Portland home, Chefas retains an eye for cutting-edge and often challenging work that demands attention. Highlighting a diverse blend of contemporary artists from around the world, the gallery features monthly exhibitions with an emphasis on cultivating new talent and encouraging risk and evolution among established visionaries. With endeavors like Heatwave and Neon Love, Chefas also maintains her unique ability to coordinate group shows with distinct concepts that allow artists plenty of breathing room to interpret and explore. Stephanie Chefas
Projects is the result of both passion and dedication as well as commitment towards sharing the best in contemporary art with enthusiasts and collectors alike.
LOCATION:
Stephanie Chefas Projects 305 SE 3rd Ave #202 Portland, OR 97214 www.stephaniechefas.com
Hours: Thursday to Saturday, 1-6pm and by appointment Contact: info@stephaniechefas.com | 503.719.6945
