Exhibition

To Live Outside The Law You Must Be Honest

2 x 2 Solos: Cate White

Curated by Nancy Mizuno Elliott

September 30 - October 31, 2014

Artist Reception: First Friday, October 3, 6-8pm

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 25, 2pm

2 x 2 Solos is a series of solo exhibitions featuring new work commissioned from four accomplished emerging artists based in the Oakland/Bay Area.

Cate White’s installation, To Live Outside The Law You Must Be Honest, is a collection of narrative paintings, drawings, sculpture and video that explore the comforts and conflicts of human relationships between friends, lovers, families and social groups. As a white artist painting her surroundings and personal relationships in West Oakland, themes of class, race and communication are present in her work. White’s visual language is vulnerable, raw, sincere and accessible as she relies on intuition and emotional honesty to examine the painful and humorous problems inherent in human connection and separation.

About the Artist: Cate White is a painter, writer and occasional sculptor and video artist whose work is characterized by a mix of humor, sincerity and cultural critique. After earning her Bachelor of Arts from Dominican University of California in San Rafael in 1994, White returned to her origins in the rural back-woods of Mendocino County where she spent her twenties and early thirties. She moved to San Francisco in 2002, began to paint and received her Master of Fine Arts from John F. Kennedy University in 2012. She is the winner of the 2014-2015 Tournesol Award from Headlands Center for the Arts and is the creator of the graphic journal book series, The Book of Life. She has lived in West Oakland for six years and makes her living as a landscape gardener.

About the Curator: Nancy Mizuno Elliott is a tenured instructor at City College of San Francisco, where she also runs the City College Art Gallery. Most recently, she was the Curatorial Fellow for Truman State University, and was previously the Exhibitions Director at Richmond Art Center. Honors include a C-00 Film Grant, Individual Artist Project Grant (City of Oakland), Alameda County Purchase Award, Study Abroad Fellowship, and residencies at ComPeung (Thailand), Julia and Daivd White Artists’ Colony (Costa Rica), Can Serrat (Spain), Ragdale (Chicago), Hambidge Center (Atlanta), Osage Arts Community (Belle, Missouri), and the de Young Museum (San Francisco). She received her Master of Fine Arts with Distinction from the University of Georgia and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Art from University of California, Berkeley.

Download pdf 2 x 2 Solos Catalogue

Download Press Release PDF

Image: Cate White, Curtis St. Auto Service, 2014. Courtesy of the Artist

2 x 2 Solos:

2 x 2 Solos serves as a significant platform for the production of, and engagement with, art in Oakland. Supported, in part, by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and East Bay Community Foundation, the program establishes important professional opportunities, networks and critical visibility for emerging artists, while supporting artists who assume risk and pose challenges through their work. Participation in the program is based on nomination by the top art professionals in the region. From over 100 nominations, four artists are selected based on reviews by a curatorial panel and studio visits with independent curators.

2014 Artists: Ben Bigelow, Rhonda Holberton, Ehren Tool, Cate White

2013 Artists: Jacqueline Kiyomi Gordon, Ernest Jolly, Ali Naschke-Messing, Rosa M. Valdez

2012 Artists: Amy M. Ho, Cybele Lyle, Lordy Rodriguez, Wafaa Yasin

2011 Artists: Michelle Blade, Chris Fraser, Taro Hattori, Weston Teruya

Visual Arts Funding provided in part by: