THEA CLARK

Thea Clark: Cryosphere So Blue

A special installation in Velvet da Vinci’s Elevator space.

2015 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

http://www.velvetdavinci.com/2016/04/thea-clark-cryosphere-so-blue/

May 13 – 22, 2016

Artist’s Reception: Friday, May 13, 2016, 6-8pm

Velvet Da Vinci is pleased to present Thea Clark’s Cryosphere So Blue, a site-specific installation in the gallery’s two-story elevator shaft. The show will run May 11 – 22, 2016. An Artist’s Reception will take place Friday, May 13, 2016, from 6-8pm.

The term cryosphere refers to the frozen water on the earth’s surface. The installation is inspired by the work of pioneering female Arctic explorer Louise A. Boyd of San Rafael, California who in the 1930’s conducted numerous expeditions to Eastern Greenland to do research on glaciers and geography. Boyd’s work included documenting the landscapes with hundreds of photographs made using state of the art cameras. Her collective research from over 80 years ago is still used today as a reference point for climate change studies.

Boyd’s black and white images capture amazing surface detail but we know the true glowing blues of icebergs and glaciers were only possible to see in person. Thea Clark’s sculpture and jewelry installation is influenced by these captured images, Boyd’s actual seen experience, documented scientific findings, and the nautical aspect of the exploration. Through the use of color, texture, and materials Clark pays homage to the natural wonder of the Arctic. Clark focuses on the pioneering spirit of Boyd through the lens of today’s knowledge of man’s responsibility for the rapid loss of our cryosphere.

Site specific installation.

Foam, plexiglass, thread,  9' x 28" x 28",  5.5' x  20" x 20", 4' x 16" x 16"

Velvet DaVinci, site-specific installation. May 2016

 2015 Tinted resin, stones, wood, anthracite coal, oxidized sterling silver, hemp.

Pigmented plaster, resin, hemp, rutilated quartz, brass

Pigmented resin, stones, wood, anthracite, silver

Rope, sterling silver, leather

Pigmented plaster, resin, antracite, brass, wood

Pigmented plaster, resin, hemp, brass, nickel, plastic coating, rutilated quartz. 3.5" x 3.5" x 1.5"

Ink on paper, mica

Brooch 2016, pigmented plaster and epoxy resin, hemp, oxidized silver, tinted plastic, rutilated quartz, nickel, brass, acrylic.

Pigmented plaster, epoxy resin, anthracite coal, wood, brass, nickel. 2016

Brooch 2016. Pigmented plaster, epoxy resin, hemp, silver, brass, nickel, rutilated quartz.

Pendant 2016. Oxidized silver, waxed cotton.