Courtney Applequist’s new show is a project done in a period of admiration, reciprocity and humanity in response to the culmination of events of 2020-21. In a departure from painting, the work includes wall-size drawings on repurposed cardboard, paper sculpture & augmented reality video integration.

“For the past eight months, I have been working on a collaborative social art project, Taxonomy of Breathing, that investigates our current societal moment through the lens of breath. Police brutality, smoke & wildfire, COVID attacking the lungs — breath connects them all; and in following the thread of breath through spiritual and healing practices, we discovered a platform of connection across cultural boundaries to listen and to heal.

“During the research for this project, I had the privilege of engaging in dialogue with a number of women, starting with the topic of ‘breath,’ leading to unexpected connections around transformational journeys. Through this process, I found that a window opened up into questions around my own art process; how these social structures, these ‘-isms,’ (sexism, colonialism, consumerism) had in-formed and formed my self-perception and therefore my art practice. We are, as a society, in a moment of shifting landscapes and structures, socially, politically, institutionally, spiritually, and we are finding new footing. As an artist, I am privileged & challenged to reflect this exploration, both collective & personal, through a practice that encourages dialogue rather than statements.

“This exhibition is a manifestation of these explorations expressed through portraiture, bringing forward tensions of shifting societal landscapes by experimenting with materials and scale, challenging precepts of permanence & perception.”