Ryan Graff Contemporary

SF Art Galleries - Openings & Events Event Link: see venue calendar above ^^ AINA CLOTAS: THE BACKWARDS RACE On Show July 11–August 1 Opening Reception Saturday July, 11, 5–9 PM Spanish artist Aina Clotas’s The Backwards Race positions the human body as both evidence and mystery: a physical structure, a vessel of feeling and memory, and one of the last places where humanity can still resist reduction into mere duty or function. While her paintings are grounded in figuration and shaped by classical training, Clotas perceives the figure as inseparable from abstraction. Her visual narratives combine rationalism with a touch of absurdity, reflecting a generation caught between societal roles, misinformation, and fears and dreams. Flesh, shadow, gesture, and negative space all become a language through which the rational and irrational move together, allowing the body to speak beyond the strictly literal. Clotas positions herself as one knot in a larger fabric of human beings trying to make sense of life: through touch, through looking, and through the fragile and necessary act of making images. REQUEST PREVIEW RAFAEL HAYASHI: PROTECT ME ON SHOW THROUGH JULY 4 Special Evening Viewing First Thursday July 2, 6–10 PM VIEW THE EXHIBITION Rafael Hayashi shares further reflections on this very personal body of work: “As I age, I believe I am acquiring more knowledge about the nature of life, but also the awareness of my own transience. This frightens me because, until not long ago, I felt immortal and possessed of enough time to achieve and begin anything I wished. Coupled with the fear of the speed at which life passes, there is a feeling of helplessness regarding what awaits me on the other side. I have always been surrounded by various beliefs and religions, yet I never placed faith in any of them; thus, believing that this life is merely a passage to others does not ring true to me—I am uncertain of it. This frequently scares me and breeds fear, knowing that I will no longer be present to help those I love. Perhaps I create these figures because I imagine they will endure much longer than I, and they will indeed be here to comfort those who remain. I understand that they are also a continuation of my being and a means for me to exist. They represent a fusion of what I deem protection, rooted in what I was taught—to always remain strong and never complain of hardships—balanced with being raised by such gentle figures who formed me and loved me. I think I deeply miss that protection which my parents and grandparents provided so abundantly. Perhaps these figures are them.” ―――――――――― SF Stuff To Do Do not edit this event! changes will be overwritten