AFFINITIES: A Group Show Hosted By Ken Davis
RVCA
San Francisco, CA
On view: May 27 – June 23, 2023
Group Exhibition
Opening Reception:
May 26 from 7–10pm
Show Statement:: How do we build the worlds we want to exist and thrive in? For some of us we enter into communities of love and care at birth; worlds where our needs are met and our creative desires are encouraged. For every example of this, there are large groups of us who find our paths through trial by fire. We make mistakes, we grow from them, we learn to do better, and try a different approach. We see something that resonates with us on a deeper level, we build trust with others already embedded in it, and we build a craving for the ability to know more about where it came from and how we can contribute toward the small glimpse of another more idealized world we see possible. This often can come from participating in subcultures or connecting/reconnecting with cultural roots and identities among other directions we can go in order to get “there”.
In Affinities a group show hosted at RVCASF, the goal is to explore and celebrate the community dynamics that each artist chooses to highlight and celebrate with militant joy and enthusiasm for building a better world for all of us. For some it may be honoring cultural traditions through their crafts and for others it could be referencing long cherished subcultures that helped creatively nourish the person they have grown to become but in the end we all want the same thing. We want to live and create in a world where everyone is equal and has the support and confidence they need to realize their full dreams.
In summary, the intent of this group show is to provide an outlet for a group of diverse artists and craftspeople to celebrate who they are and how they got there in a world that so often makes deviations from the accepted norms a more difficult and painful path to take. In addition, it is intended to showcase what it looks like when we all have a space to share our work in. Through doing that, we celebrate all our unique experiences and loves in one setting and mutually appreciate and build respect for one another. In the words of Chumbawamba “nothing ever burns down by itself, every fire needs a little bit of help”. Join us in showing up and supporting creative people in any way and witness how it counts toward our side of the scoreboard in the game of burning down the walls that hold us apart
