The Horizon Line
Georgia Hodges
Reception Saturday, April 1 6-9pm
Exhibition March 30 – April 29
The Great Highway Gallery is thrilled to present The Horizon Line , ceramics and drawings by Georgia Hodges.
About the Artist
Georgia Hodges is a working visual artist, small business partner/collaborator, and mother, living in San Francisco. She makes ceramic sculpture & pottery, as well as mixed media drawings. She graduated from California College of the Arts in 1997 with a BFA in ceramics. From 1999-2008 she ran an art gallery (Soularch Gallery), in the Outer Sunset district. She fondly refers to her ceramics studio as The Mud Room at Ocean Beach, where she invites other ceramic artists to gather and share their work and inspirations on a regular basis, cultivating a ceramics ‘collective’ of sorts. Her homestead, behind the studio, is a “work in progress’, and this collaboration with her husband Doug Jacuzzi (architectural designer and master builder), has, for better or for worse, turned into a lifestyle project. She currently teaches ceramics at SF Clayworks in San Francisco.
Artist Statement
I notice the natural world in a state of ongoing adaptation. Nests are built on ledges, vines grow from cracks in buildings, sand dunes migrate. Nature’s presence, steady and persistent, is in constant pursuit of harmony. I learn the lessons of adaptation from nature. I notice the way nature responds to humankind’s irreverence. I’m heartened by the natural world’s ability to accommodate our laziness, our discards, our disregard. In my art, I look to express the beauty in that adaptation, in that grouping together, in the quiet, gentle adjustments. I try to create something that might occur in nature, that has a sense of order and building on itself over time. I work to express that sense of optimism that comes with assurance that renewal will occur. I’m attracted to small, simple details, to stark contrasts, to raw sounds and shapes. I choose materials that are delicate or bold. I strive to accurately reflect what I experience: a world that is drastic and full of contrast, that is tender and quiet; a world where the chaotic is intertwined with and even organized amid the steady, reliable presence of nature. The work for this exhibition, entitled, The Horizon Line, highlights our perceptions of things near and far. Our horizon line, out there, off our local Ocean Beach, is where the sea and sky meet, a seeming ‘edge’, that’s not really there. It is sharp some days, a clear division between the water and the air, and fuzzy and indistinguishable on foggy days. If we were to sail to it, we’d never reach it. It is a symbol of infinity. The work for this show expresses a variety of perspectives, often at once. Calling attention to the ocean, so expansive, yet diminutive in the hands of the fog, in the Ocean on Fog piece. Other pieces reference something that might wash up on the beach, reminding us of a kelp holdfast or something once used by humans, that resides below the horizon line. A drawing might reference the expansiveness of the sky and how similar it is to the expansiveness of microscopic algae living in the ocean water. The horizon line, in essence, calls attention to our tendencies to divide and organize. Its varied appearance reminds us of our diverse points of view, and its endlessness gives us a sense of infinite possibility. About the Gallery The Great Highway is a fine art gallery located in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset district. The gallery was founded by John Lindsey, a long time resident of the city with a deep appreciation for images and ideas that explore the intersection of land and water in contemporary work. The Great Highway Gallery’s mission is to seek, analyze, support, and promote the work of a diverse group of artists who seek sincere authenticity, challenge conventional thinking, amuse us, and push the boundaries of today’s creative media. To learn more about the gallery, visit www.thegreathighway.com.
