LINDA GEARY

SLOWDOWN SUMMER

June 22 – July 26, 2018

Roll Up Project is pleased to present two installations by Linda Geary.

Linda Geary’s work explores the impact of color, light and form on our daily lives, and the possibilities of transformation and reinvention. Her paintings are often layered with sheer, solid, and patterned shapes that impart a depth of space and a vibrant abstract environment.

Geary’s work is especially interesting because she successfully translates her perspective between paintings, works on paper, wood, and textiles. Each medium imparts different qualities, while retaining a unified visual style that reflects on the power of color and pattern. A specific shade of blue or a sheer pattern over a solid tone have the capability to take viewers to a deeply personal moment. Despite our different cultural perspectives, Geary’s collages hold the possibility of connection and resonance among us all.

In the main window, the site-specific collage Slowdown is composed of painted paper, cardboard, fabric, and other found materials. The viewer’s experiences with color, pattern, and form creates personal meaning, like a coded message with many translations. Some elements feel familiar, reminding the viewer of a favorite garment, a piece of architecture, or something seen in the natural world. Geary’s masterful use of color brings harmony to brights and shadows, highlighting the many colors that fill our lives on a daily basis.

In the Third Street windows, Geary displays Summer, a new textile work inspired by her recent travels in India. For Geary, experiencing the colors, patterns, and textures inherent in India’s historic cities is like traveling through a work of art. Things seen on the street translate as patterns and colors in this large site-specific composition. Patterned textile squares are painted in layered patterns and studded with collaged paper elements. The asymmetrical layout of squares into a grid imparts a dynamic tension, implying the possibility of movement, addition, or subtraction.

Linda Geary’s work has been exhibited at BAMPFA, Oakland Museum, Bau Institute, YBCA, Mills College, and the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, among others. In 2013 she co-founded Painting Expanded, a symposium of contemporary painting at CCA. Her book project, Studio Visit, is comprised of writings and collages made from 100 studio visits, with essay by Norma Cole. She is the recipient of an Elizabeth Foundation Grant, a Pollock-Krasner Grant, and residencies at the Millay Colony, Art Omi, and Yaddo.  She is Professor of Painting and Graduate Fine Arts at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and lives and works in Oakland.

To learn more about Linda Geary’s work, visit her website.

ON VIEW IN THE ROLL UP WINDOW

Slowdown, 2018
acrylic on found paper and cardboard
83.5 x 141 inches
Slowdown, 2018 (detail)
acrylic on found paper and cardboard
83.5 x 141 inches

ON VIEW IN THE THIRD STREET WINDOWS

Summer, 2018
Acrylic, watercolor, pencil, and thread on paper and fabric
142 x 117 inches
Summer, 2018 (detail)
Acrylic, watercolor, pencil, and thread on paper and fabric
142 x 117 inches