Artist Victoria May

Victoria May- Artist Statement

An interest in tension and dichotomy fuels my artwork. Continually I attempt to merge the delicate with the strong, to seduce and repel, to obscure and reveal, and to combine the hand and the machine. A conceptual tension arises between beauty and darkness in my work, alluding to the fundamental struggles inherent in the human condition. Using the framework of cultural constructs, such as abstraction, codification, circumscription, my work highlights the absurdity they often impose. By pitting the organic or visceral against the institutional, I seek to reveal a dark humor or tender fragility in the seeming contortions that often underpin our lives.

I rely on raw materials and found objects, allowing the history, function, metaphorical value and/or sensibility of each element to contribute to the work’s meaning. Additional meticulous handwork transforms humble materials into the precious, mirroring how our own ephemeral lives become precious through our own personal toils.

Resume

Education

2001 MFA San Jose State University

1989 BA in Design, cum laude, University of California, Los Angeles

Solo Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

2009 Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York, NY; In Stitches

2009 Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz; Fashion Art exhibition

2009 Pajaro Valley Art Gallery, Watsonville; Cabrillo Arts, Cabrillo Artists

2009 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco; High-rise Project

2009 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art, Monotype Marathon

2009 Pajaro Valley Art Gallery, Watsonville; In this house that I call home

2008 Conley Gallery, California State University Fresno, Outside Invitational

2008 Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Fashion Art Runway Show

2008 The Veil: Visible & Invisible Spaces; curated by Jennifer Heath, traveling through 2011

2008 The Center for Book Arts, New York; Mapping Correspondence: Mail Art in the 21st Century

2008 Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz; Ying: Inspired by the Art and History of China

2008 Backwater Arts, San Jose; Delineated

2008 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos; Oscillations

2007 California State University East Bay, Hayward; Cutting Edge Books

2007 Heritage Bank, San Jose; Figuratively Speaking

2007 Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz; The Sea Around Us

2007 Headlands Center for the Arts, Marin; Close Calls

2007 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco

2006 Art Object Gallery, San Jose

2006 Works Gallery, San Jose; American Seven

2006 San Francisco Center for the Book; X-Libris: SFCB’s 10th-Anniversary Exhibition

2006 Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, By the Hand

2006 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco

2006 Pajaro Valley Art Gallery, Watsonville; The Fine Art of Textiles: Threads, Fibers and Constructions

2006 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; Hair Raising

2006 San Francisco Public Library; Bookworks: PCBA Members’ exhibition

2005 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco

2005 Art Object Gallery, San Jose; Collage/Assemblage

2005 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos; Black, White and Read

2005 Gualala Art Center, CA; Material Moments

2005 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos; Multiple Personalities

2004 Works Gallery, San Jose; 2004 works benefit art auction

2004 Works Gallery, San Jose; Blue

2003 San Francisco Center for the Book; XOXOX

2002 IDEA, Austin TX; Fabricated

2002 Seventh Sense Fashion Show, Santa Cruz

2002 San Francisco Center for the Book; Relevant Structure

2002 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art, Monotype Marathon VIII

2002 The Putty Project at Cathcart and Pacific, Santa Cruz

2002 Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz; Exemplary Contemporary
(awarded First Prize)

2002 San Jose State University, Gallery 3; Beyond Information; Artists’ Books

2001 Works Gallery, San Jose; Viva la Video

2001 Angel’s Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro; Personae

2001 Heritage Bank, San Jose; Selected Works by Students in the MFA Program

2001 Works Gallery, San Jose; Out of State

2001 Monterey Peninsula College; Challenging Complacency

2001 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; This is not a Book

2001 Works Gallery, San Jose; Members Show

2000 San Jose State University, Gallery 5; Fiber Works

2000 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; Salon des ICA

2000 San Jose Art League; Annual 3-D Competition

2000 San Francisco Center for the Book; What is Reading?

2000 Olive Hyde Art Gallery, Fremont; 32nd Annual Textile Exhibit (awarded Best of Show)

2000 Works Gallery, San Jose; Members Show

2000 San Jose Museum of Art; CSU Chancellors Meeting

2000 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; Valentine Auction

1999 Seventh Sense Fashion Show, Santa Cruz

1999 Santa Cruz Art League; Annual Statewide Exhibition

1999 San Francisco Art Commission Gallery; Natural Selection

1999 Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT; Women in the Visual Arts

Professional Experience

2009 Adjunct Lecturer, Santa Clara University
2009 Adjunct Lecturer, West Valley Community College
2009 Part-time Lecturer, Sculptural Cloth, San Francisco State University
2003–present Adjunct Lecturer Cabrillo College, Santa Cruz
2004–2008 Adjunct Lecturer, Monterey Peninsula College
2003–2007 Course Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz
2003 Adjunct Lecturer, Santa Clara University
2002 Adjunct Lecturer, San Jose State University

Awards

2009 Nominated for Rydell Fellowship
2008 Finalist for Rydell Fellowship
2007 Nominated for Eureka Fellowship
2007 Nominated for Rydell Fellowship
2006 Collaborated with Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens on costumes for their Yellow Wedding
2005 Nominated for SECA Award
2005 Nominated for Rydell Fellowship
2005 Invitational Print Edition for Works, San Jose
2004 Nominated for Eureka Fellowship
2001 New Directions Scholarship at San Jose State University

Publications

2009 Spark, KQED Television, artist profile, original air date: May 13, 2009
2008 Artweek, November, Victoria May at Don Soker Contemporary Art- by Frank Cebulski
2008 San Francisco Chronicle, September 28, Art worth getting a bead on- by Kenneth Baker
2008 Artshift San Jose, August 22, review of solo show by Hanna Hannah
2006 By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art- edited by Joseph Magliaro and Shu Hung, Princeton Architectural Press
2006 Santa Cruz Sentinel, TheGuide, May 5–11, The Fine Art of Textiles- by Nancy Pasternack
2006 Metro Silicon Valley, February 1–7, Threads of Memory- by Michael S. Gant
2006 San Jose Mercury News, February 5, The Artists’ Trail along South First- by Jack Fisher
2006 San Francisco Chronicle, January 15, Tressed Out; Art off the top of our heads- by Anastasia Hendrix
2005 Independent Coast Observer, March 4, Material Hours,- by Joost Romeu
2005 Fiberarts Magazine, Jan/Feb issue, Hats: the Pinnacle of Wearable Art,- by Sunita Patterson.
2004 Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 10, Today’s Best Bets: Envisioning White
2004 San José City College Times, March 4; Feminist Figments of Art and Reality, Tony Marentes
2002 XLENT; Austin American Statesman, December 19; Slice-of-life fashion at the Bread Fac tory,- by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin
2002 Good Times, June 13, Filling in the Holes,- by Christa Martin
2002 City on a Hill Press, May 2; Exemplary Contemporary 2002,- by Lonnie Arnold
2001 Metro Santa Cruz, August 8; weekly column by Bruce Bratton
2001 San Jose Mercury News, June 14; Where the artists are works in progress,- by Jack Fischer
2001 San Jose Mercury News, April 8; Books that are not Books,- by Jack Fischer
2001 Artweek, March; This is not a Book,- by Berin Golonu
2001 Metro Santa Cruz, March 28; Fictitious Identities- by Christina Waters
1997 San Jose Metro, April 24; Back to Works,- by Ann Elliot Sherman



	Victoria May- Artist Statement An interest in tension and dichotomy fuels my artwork. Continually I attempt to merge the delicate with the strong, to seduce and repel, to obscure and reveal, and to combine the hand and the machine. A conceptual tension arises between beauty and darkness in my work, alluding to the fundamental struggles inherent in the human condition. Using the framework of cultural constructs, such as abstraction, codification, circumscription, my work highlights the absurdity they often impose. By pitting the organic or visceral against the institutional, I seek to reveal a dark humor or tender fragility in the seeming contortions that often underpin our lives. I rely on raw materials and found objects, allowing the history, function, metaphorical value and/or sensibility of each element to contribute to the work’s meaning. Additional meticulous handwork transforms humble materials into the precious, mirroring how our own ephemeral lives become precious through our own personal toils. Resume Education 2001 MFA San Jose State University 1989 BA in Design, cum laude, University of California, Los Angeles Solo Exhibitions 2008 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco; Residuum 2008 Invisible Venue, Oakland; Hub 2004 Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz; Envisioning White 2004 Art Building, Santa Clara University; Figment of the Machination 2004 Smith Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz; Periphery of Experience 2001 Creative Arts Center Gallery, Sunnyvale; Shaping Memory Shaping Us 2001 Madame Sidecar Clothing Boutique, Santa Cruz 2001 San Jose State University, Gallery 3; Thesis Exhibition, Adaptations Group Exhibitions 2009 Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, New York, NY; In Stitches 2009 Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz; Fashion Art exhibition 2009 Pajaro Valley Art Gallery, Watsonville; Cabrillo Arts, Cabrillo Artists 2009 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco; High-rise Project 2009 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art, Monotype Marathon 2009 Pajaro Valley Art Gallery, Watsonville; In this house that I call home 2008 Conley Gallery, California State University Fresno, Outside Invitational 2008 Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Fashion Art Runway Show 2008 The Veil: Visible & Invisible Spaces; curated by Jennifer Heath, traveling through 2011 2008 The Center for Book Arts, New York; Mapping Correspondence: Mail Art in the 21st Century 2008 Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz; Ying: Inspired by the Art and History of China 2008 Backwater Arts, San Jose; Delineated 2008 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos; Oscillations 2007 California State University East Bay, Hayward; Cutting Edge Books 2007 Heritage Bank, San Jose; Figuratively Speaking 2007 Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz; The Sea Around Us 2007 Headlands Center for the Arts, Marin; Close Calls 2007 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco 2006 Art Object Gallery, San Jose 2006 Works Gallery, San Jose; American Seven 2006 San Francisco Center for the Book; X-Libris: SFCB’s 10th-Anniversary Exhibition 2006 Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, By the Hand 2006 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco 2006 Pajaro Valley Art Gallery, Watsonville; The Fine Art of Textiles: Threads, Fibers and Constructions 2006 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; Hair Raising 2006 San Francisco Public Library; Bookworks: PCBA Members’ exhibition 2005 Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco 2005 Art Object Gallery, San Jose; Collage/Assemblage 2005 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos; Black, White and Read 2005 Gualala Art Center, CA; Material Moments 2005 Cabrillo College Gallery, Aptos; Multiple Personalities 2004 Works Gallery, San Jose; 2004 works benefit art auction 2004 Works Gallery, San Jose; Blue 2003 San Francisco Center for the Book; XOXOX 2002 IDEA, Austin TX; Fabricated 2002 Seventh Sense Fashion Show, Santa Cruz 2002 San Francisco Center for the Book; Relevant Structure 2002 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art, Monotype Marathon VIII 2002 The Putty Project at Cathcart and Pacific, Santa Cruz 2002 Eloise Pickard Smith Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz; Exemplary Contemporary (awarded First Prize) 2002 San Jose State University, Gallery 3; Beyond Information; Artists’ Books 2001 Works Gallery, San Jose; Viva la Video 2001 Angel’s Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro; Personae 2001 Heritage Bank, San Jose; Selected Works by Students in the MFA Program 2001 Works Gallery, San Jose; Out of State 2001 Monterey Peninsula College; Challenging Complacency 2001 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; This is not a Book 2001 Works Gallery, San Jose; Members Show 2000 San Jose State University, Gallery 5; Fiber Works 2000 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; Salon des ICA 2000 San Jose Art League; Annual 3-D Competition 2000 San Francisco Center for the Book; What is Reading? 2000 Olive Hyde Art Gallery, Fremont; 32nd Annual Textile Exhibit (awarded Best of Show) 2000 Works Gallery, San Jose; Members Show 2000 San Jose Museum of Art; CSU Chancellors Meeting 2000 San Jose Institute for Contemporary Art; Valentine Auction 1999 Seventh Sense Fashion Show, Santa Cruz 1999 Santa Cruz Art League; Annual Statewide Exhibition 1999 San Francisco Art Commission Gallery; Natural Selection 1999 Erector Square Gallery, New Haven, CT; Women in the Visual Arts Professional Experience 2009 Adjunct Lecturer, Santa Clara University 2009 Adjunct Lecturer, West Valley Community College 2009 Part-time Lecturer, Sculptural Cloth, San Francisco State University 2003–present Adjunct Lecturer Cabrillo College, Santa Cruz 2004–2008 Adjunct Lecturer, Monterey Peninsula College 2003–2007 Course Assistant, University of California, Santa Cruz 2003 Adjunct Lecturer, Santa Clara University 2002 Adjunct Lecturer, San Jose State University Awards 2009 Nominated for Rydell Fellowship 2008 Finalist for Rydell Fellowship 2007 Nominated for Eureka Fellowship 2007 Nominated for Rydell Fellowship 2006 Collaborated with Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens on costumes for their Yellow Wedding 2005 Nominated for SECA Award 2005 Nominated for Rydell Fellowship 2005 Invitational Print Edition for Works, San Jose 2004 Nominated for Eureka Fellowship 2001 New Directions Scholarship at San Jose State University Publications 2009 Spark, KQED Television, artist profile, original air date: May 13, 2009 2008 Artweek, November, Victoria May at Don Soker Contemporary Art- by Frank Cebulski 2008 San Francisco Chronicle, September 28, Art worth getting a bead on- by Kenneth Baker 2008 Artshift San Jose, August 22, review of solo show by Hanna Hannah 2006 By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art- edited by Joseph Magliaro and Shu Hung, Princeton Architectural Press 2006 Santa Cruz Sentinel, TheGuide, May 5–11, The Fine Art of Textiles- by Nancy Pasternack 2006 Metro Silicon Valley, February 1–7, Threads of Memory- by Michael S. Gant 2006 San Jose Mercury News, February 5, The Artists’ Trail along South First- by Jack Fisher 2006 San Francisco Chronicle, January 15, Tressed Out; Art off the top of our heads- by Anastasia Hendrix 2005 Independent Coast Observer, March 4, Material Hours,- by Joost Romeu 2005 Fiberarts Magazine, Jan/Feb issue, Hats: the Pinnacle of Wearable Art,- by Sunita Patterson. 2004 Santa Cruz Sentinel, August 10, Today’s Best Bets: Envisioning White 2004 San José City College Times, March 4; Feminist Figments of Art and Reality, Tony Marentes 2002 XLENT; Austin American Statesman, December 19; Slice-of-life fashion at the Bread Fac tory,- by Jeanne Claire van Ryzin 2002 Good Times, June 13, Filling in the Holes,- by Christa Martin 2002 City on a Hill Press, May 2; Exemplary Contemporary 2002,- by Lonnie Arnold 2001 Metro Santa Cruz, August 8; weekly column by Bruce Bratton 2001 San Jose Mercury News, June 14; Where the artists are works in progress,- by Jack Fischer 2001 San Jose Mercury News, April 8; Books that are not Books,- by Jack Fischer 2001 Artweek, March; This is not a Book,- by Berin Golonu 2001 Metro Santa Cruz, March 28; Fictitious Identities- by Christina Waters 1997 San Jose Metro, April 24; Back to Works,- by Ann Elliot Sherman





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