Installation in the Small Space, June 13 – July 27, 2024
Garrett Compton Daniells
Many Hands (2021-2024)
June 13 – July 27, 2024 Artist's Reception Saturday, June 29th, 1-4pm
Garrett Compton Daniells: Many Hands (2021-2024)
Garrett Compton Daniells' installation, Many Hands (2021-2024), emerges as a testament to resilience and community in the face of personal adversity. Created during Daniells' recovery from a near-death experience, the installation features numerous clay hands crafted in a repetitive, meditative process over a period of several years. Each hand symbolizes not only the artist's journey through trauma, disability, addiction and mental health struggles but also serves as a universal metaphor for collective human experience in times of hardship.
The choice of clay, a fragile yet malleable material, underscores themes of vulnerability and strength. Daniells' statement that "Many Hands" is a "time-based body of work" highlights the evolving nature of healing and growth after profound life challenges. The installation transcends its materiality, incorporating common materials like plywood and nails, which symbolize perseverance and the will to survive using any means necessary, drawing parallels to the predicament of individuals facing homelessness and addiction.
In "Many Hands," Daniells invites viewers to contemplate the interconnectedness of human suffering and solidarity. The suspended ceramics evoke a sense of precariousness, yet also embody persistence and the potential for rebuilding. Through this evocative installation, Daniells encourages empathy and reflection on the shared human experience of overcoming adversity, reminding us that, despite our scars and struggles, we can be the supportive "many hands" for each other in times of need.
Artist's Statement
Many Hands is a time based body of work that explores a repetitious process as a means of navigating the survival of a near death experience, disability, and the subsequent growth through the pain. Trauma, guilt, and shame surrounding addiction and mental health are present while attempting to explore hope and rebuilding when we get picked up and put together after we fall.
Common materials like plywood and nails are elevated and come from my background as a fabricator but can also be read as using any means necessary to build and survive, much like our houseless neighbors on the streets, usually addicted and suffering. These people and myself, all of us at times, are the fragile ceramics hanging in suspension. We can be the many hands for each other, even when we’re beaten, scarred, and bloodied.
Thanks to my mom, uncle, dad, stepmom, and brother for being there for me when I fell.
Thanks to all of my chosen family for keeping me around through a lot of pain.
Special thanks to Jackie Bahnsen at Hatch Workshop in my hometown of Stockton, California for firing all of these pieces and giving me a place to work while I recovered from my accident. Thanks to Transmission Gallery in Oakland for giving me a place to show this.
- Garrett Compton Daniells
More About Garrett Compton Daniells
B. March 3, 1992, Stockton, CA
Garrett Daniells is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in construction, fabrication, and installation work. Daniells is from Stockton, CA and currently lives and works in Oakland, CA.
Solo Exhibitions IN//BETWEEN, Collaboration with Derrick Allard, October 2019 Elsie May Goodwin Gallery, gentlefriction, artist of the month of July 2019
Group Exhibitions THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU, desert.cornucopia, Axis Gallery, 2018 The Revolution will be DIY, desert.cornucopia installation, 2018 Reality Pop-Up, Black & White photo show, 2015 Grizzly Rock Cafe, Pop-up Craft Fair, 2014 Reality Pop-Up, G & M incorporated present “Street” art (show), 2014 Reality Pop-Up, f/2.09 Photo Collective presents “Collaboratus”, 2013 Reality Pop-Up, 6x6 show, 2013 Reality Pop-Up, ALTERNATIVE MEDIUM SHOW, 2013 Reality Pop-Up, f/2.09 Show, 2013 Reality Pop-Up, Stocktonia, 2013 Reality Pop-Up, White & Black, 2013 Plea For Peace Center, Stockton Aesthetic Initiative Show, 2012
Public Art Collide Festival, Weber Point, Stockton, CA, 2019 Park(ing) day Stockton, blank wall installation, 2018 Park(ing) day Stockton, desert.cornucopia installation, 2017 Beacon: Sacramento, video projection project, 2017 Sacramento Mural Festival, Artist-assistant for Andrew Schoultz, 16th and J street, Sacramento, CA, 2016
Community Projects MOMENTUM, mural festival in downtown Stockton, 2016 STOCKMARKET, MC, sound engineer, stage manager, 2015-2017 The 207, DIY music venue in Stockton, CA, 2014-2015 InstaMeet 3: ARTS & Culture, Art party I organized and curated, 2014 Reality Pop-Ups, DIY art shows exhibiting 15+ solo/group shows, 2012-2015
Boards & Commissions Stockton Arts Commission, Commissioner, January 2018-February 2019 Placeholder Magazine, Board of Directors, Chairman, January 2017-present
Judging Exhibitions Sandhill Crane Festival, Lodi, CA, November 3, 2017
Panel Discussions THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU, Panel Discussion with Karlos Rene Ayala and Orion Camero, Sacramento, CA November 15th, 2018 Public Art Discussion, The Art Lab, Stockton, CA, October 16, 2017
Media Appearances -Max Mondo Neon, “Tackling Installs and Best Lessons Learned with Neon Artist Garrett Daniells” Mondo Neon Podcast, August 2019 Eva Roethler, “Sculpture and Science” Comstock Magazine, June 22, 2018 Melanie Curry, Minerva Perez and Roger Rudick, “Park(ing) day in California” Streets Blog CAL, September 18, 2017 Nuntida Sisivat, “Colors of Stockton” Pulse 209, Winter 2016 Lori Gilbert, “Well Deserved Honors” Stockton Record, October 8, 2016 Allison Joy, “Stockton Unlocked” Comstock’s Magazine, August 2016 Micheal Fitzgerald, “Bright Idea: Neon Preservation” Stockton Record, August 6, 2016 Micheal Fitzgerald, “City History Writ in Light” Stockton Record, January 17, 2015
Publications Findrangers Camera Club #12, 2017 Placeholder Magazine, 2013-present f/2.09 Collective Zine, 2012-2013
Awards & Grants HackerLab Pathways Scholarship, 2020 Stockton Arts Commission Comet Award, 2016 Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, 2016 California State Legislature Certificate of Recognition, 2016 San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Certificate of Recognition, 2016 City of Stockton Certificate of Recognition, 2016 Stockton Arts Commission Grant for “MOMENTUM”, 2016