Local Artist Lexa Walsh at Berkeley Art Gallery April 21, 2007

LEXA WALSH

Reception Saturday April 21st, 3-5pm,
Exhibit through June 2nd, 2007

Seductive Objects: Small Sculpture

Visit her site at www.lexawalsh.com or email her at toychestra@yahoo.com.

Artist Statment:

As an artist, I work as collector, archivist, archaeologist, historian and voyeur. Methods of pseudo-anthropology are essential to my work. I manipulate lost, forgotten or discarded clothing, toys and artifacts as well as mass-produced, often ‘feminine’ items with obsessive processes of cutting, wax-dipping, sorting, bundling, packaging and sewing. The resulting fetishes are both abject and seductive. Many of my materials act as residue and artifact revealing what one has worn, used and washed, much like garbage proves what one has consumed. Alluding to narratives and memories (personal, collective and unfamiliar), the work navigates a space between nostalgia and invention.

A major, current group of works is an interactive installation/performance entitled "The Immortalization Project", which brings together artists and audience members as participants. I invite participants to offer a nostalgic item to be "Immortalized" by recording and documenting the objects and their stories, sharing them with the public through various means. As a cultural observer, I interpret (sometimes misinterpret) objects and images I explore through my travels. I intend to realize the piece internationally, so that a comparative, "anthropological" exploration can be made by participants and viewers.

Official Website: http://altagalleria.com/index.html