Joy Gallery in Bayview-Hunterspoint is hosting its third art show at their 4921 3rd Street space on Saturday, February 20. Heather Rosner, owner of Joy Gallery (which doubles as a clothing boutique), has teamed up with collage artist and curator, Caroline Augusta, for Cut & Paste. The show features over twenty local, national, and international contemporary artists, each with differing perspectives on the traditional art form of collage.

Augusta sums up the artist selection nicely, “this is a showcase of the most relevant names in collage today. The artists we’re exhibiting are innovators of their medium, whether it’s creating large scale murals or brand imagery for exciting brands like RVCA, they are ahead of the pack.”

Within San Francisco’s difficult art gallery and leasing landscape, Rosner and Augusta have both sought out non-traditional spaces in less-traveled neighborhoods in order to make their art goals happen. Augusta’s most recent curating venture was a one-bedroom apartment she had successfully converted into an ArtSpan Open Studios gallery space in the Sunset. Rosner has also been able to overhaul two vacant retail spaces, give them some much needed TLC, and turn them into welcoming environments where art, fashion, and fun take president over making a large profit.

In anticipation of the show, I met with Caroline Augusta, the curator for Cut & Paste, to get more details about the artists selected for this show, her experience as an artist, and her thoughts on where collage stands among contemporary art.

What is it about collage that attracted you to this medium? 

Collage provides visual inspiration from the start. Also it’s cheap and readily available anywhere you go. There’s also the opportunity to play with imagery that has a strong history or heavy visual effect, like a familiar brand emblem, etc.

Through the action of cut and paste we are given the ability to reinvent the preexisting, to generate something very much one’s own accounts. Our cultural memory can be altered and twisted through the hands of an artist, working with familiar images that are taken apart and put together into something new transforms our previous perceptions.

I see that there are quite a few artists listed for this show, yet collage is not a medium I come across too often in the contemporary art world. Are there a lot of collage artist out there?
I often run into people that love collage or work with the medium. Perhaps relative to painters or illustrators there’s doesn’t seem to be many but there definitely’s not a shortage of collage artists. I don’t know why you don’t see collage more in galleries, that should change.

Agreed. Can you give me a little bit more info on where these featured artists are from?
The artists exhibiting in Cut & Paste are local as well as out-of-state and international artists. I could’ve filled two shows with all the collage artists I love! There are local artists from San Francisco, Alameda, Burlingame, and Oakland. Other U.S. artists are from Salt Lake, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, and New York. Internationally, we have artists from Singapore, Vienna, and two from Australia.

Can you tell me a little bit about how you came in contact with Joy Gallery?
I arranged to meet Heather at the gallery and brought my portfolio with me. She asked if I’d like to curate a collage show at Joy Gallery and I said ‘absolutely’! It’s been an awesome experience.

Any additional advice to aspiring collage artists?
Don’t look at other peoples work when you first start…just go for it and get lost in your imagination. If you get stuck, observe what techniques others use – there’s a lot of ways to use collage. Be original and have fun!

Artwork by Bedelgeuse

 +++ Joy Gallery is easily accessible by Muni (the T Line is right outside their front door). The art opening for Cut & Paste is Saturday, February 20 (7pm – 12am), and will remain on view through Saturday, March 5.

Featured artists include Amy Summer, Andrew McGranahan, Bedelgeuse, Caroline Augusta, Dana Fortune, Derek Macario, Ellie Rex, Eugenia Loli, Evlyne Wong, Irina & Silviu Székely, Nil Ultra, John Vochatzer, Johnny Smith, Justin Angelos, Kate Cuthbert, Kylea Borges, Maike Luedenbach, Meta, Nic Courdy, Resatio, Scorpion Dagger, Shayna Yasuhara, and Tyler Spangler.