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Rachel Kalman: Black Swans
June 29 - August 12, 2023
Artist's Reception, Saturday, July 22nd, 1- 4 pm 
Rachel Kalman, Deepwater, 2020, oil on canvas, 26 x 30
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Transmission Gallery presents a solo exhibition of provocative still life paintings by Rachel Kalman.
Kalman assembles still lifes with care, selecting flowers, fabrics, fruits, other objects and photos or images that together present richly constructed tableaus reflecting on dramatically pivotal events of relatively recent modern history, so called Black Swans. Underpinning the narrative of each painting, the recognition of each Catastrophe presents an opportunity to reflect on the questionable impact we collectively have on the environment and each other. Painted in intriguing detail and with phenomenal precision, the symbolism and implication of each element is considered, creating both oblique and direct commentary, while composition and color lend a captivating beauty to the work. Scroll down to see more of the work |
Contact the gallery regarding any of Rachel Kalman's paintings
BLACK SWANS: Artist's Statement
My paintings are full of notions of representation — objects that narrate cultural ideals. Where Art demands the viewer work and think and struggle for understanding, the world of Kitsch demands nothing. It is a realm of formulas; comfortable, superficial, and easy to digest. But I believe banal images and objects have latent, propagandistic power. They have been historically associated with mass-mentalities and authoritarian regimes. By re-contextualizing notions of genre and historical visual codes, I work to generate an intimate psychological space in which our cherished image-based value systems are compromised and implicate us in their agenda.
I appropriate photographs of both historical and contemporary “Black Swan Events” in this series of work. Coined by scholar and economist Nassim Taleb, the term “Black Swan” refers to a happening that generates a huge shock, affects a mass number of people, and is rationalized and inappropriately contextualized after the fact. The psychological response triggered by Black Swans is deeply, often ancestrally, felt. I am interested in the immediate sensation of, in the words of Taleb, “seeing an event happen precisely because it was not supposed to.”
Because our world is built upon containable, dangerously simplified master narratives we remain vulnerable to future tragedies and inequitable power dynamics - many of which we are experiencing right now. I have found that still life painting operates in the liminal space between material record and metaphor and serves as a wonderfully uncomfortable, allegorical space in which to examine narrative fallacies.
Black Swan Events:
Roe - The Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Deepwater - The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Kincade - The 2019 California Fire Season
Rainier - Mt. Rainier (Active Stratovolcano)
Sophie and Franz - The 1914 Assassination
Ribbentrop, Hitler, and Burli - The Rise of the Fascism in Germany
- Rachel Kalman
My paintings are full of notions of representation — objects that narrate cultural ideals. Where Art demands the viewer work and think and struggle for understanding, the world of Kitsch demands nothing. It is a realm of formulas; comfortable, superficial, and easy to digest. But I believe banal images and objects have latent, propagandistic power. They have been historically associated with mass-mentalities and authoritarian regimes. By re-contextualizing notions of genre and historical visual codes, I work to generate an intimate psychological space in which our cherished image-based value systems are compromised and implicate us in their agenda.
I appropriate photographs of both historical and contemporary “Black Swan Events” in this series of work. Coined by scholar and economist Nassim Taleb, the term “Black Swan” refers to a happening that generates a huge shock, affects a mass number of people, and is rationalized and inappropriately contextualized after the fact. The psychological response triggered by Black Swans is deeply, often ancestrally, felt. I am interested in the immediate sensation of, in the words of Taleb, “seeing an event happen precisely because it was not supposed to.”
Because our world is built upon containable, dangerously simplified master narratives we remain vulnerable to future tragedies and inequitable power dynamics - many of which we are experiencing right now. I have found that still life painting operates in the liminal space between material record and metaphor and serves as a wonderfully uncomfortable, allegorical space in which to examine narrative fallacies.
Black Swan Events:
Roe - The Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Deepwater - The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Kincade - The 2019 California Fire Season
Rainier - Mt. Rainier (Active Stratovolcano)
Sophie and Franz - The 1914 Assassination
Ribbentrop, Hitler, and Burli - The Rise of the Fascism in Germany
- Rachel Kalman
More about Rachel Kalman
Rachel received her BA from the University of Puget Sound and her MFA from The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, MO.
She has recently moved to Portland, OR where she paints and teaches. Rachel works primarily from observation; making intimate portraits of inanimate objects in oil paint. She is interested in juxtaposing decorative aesthetics with difficult realities. Her work is full of notions of representation; kitsch, horror, humor, and metaphor.
She has recently moved to Portland, OR where she paints and teaches. Rachel works primarily from observation; making intimate portraits of inanimate objects in oil paint. She is interested in juxtaposing decorative aesthetics with difficult realities. Her work is full of notions of representation; kitsch, horror, humor, and metaphor.
Education
2019 MFA in Visual Art, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 BA in Studio Art (Painting), Major in English (Creative Writing), Magna cum Laude, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Teaching
Present Faculty, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
2022 Faculty, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
Adjunct Faculty: Drawing, Mission College, Santa Clara, CA
2021- 2020 Adjunct Faculty: Drawing (Live Virtual Lecture), Webster University, St. Louis, MO
Adjunct Faculty: Color Theory, 2D Design, Drawing (Live Virtual Lecture), St. Charles Community College, Cottleville. MO
Adjunct Faculty: Painting I/II/III (Live Virtual Lecture), Art Appreciation, Drawing I/II/ III, St. Louis Community College, Wildwood Campus, Wildwood, MO
2019 Adjunct Faculty: Drawing, Webster University, St. Louis, MO
Adjunct Faculty: Art Appreciation, Drawing I/II/III, St. Louis Community College, Wildwood Campus, Wildwood, MO
Drawing Instructor, Portfolio Plus Program, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Teaching Assistant: Drawing, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2018 Teaching Assistant: Intermediate Painting, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Teaching Assistant: 2D Design, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Drawing Instructor, Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, St. Louis, MO
2017 Teaching Assistant: Drawing, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 - 2016 Art Teacher, The Renaissance International School, Piedmont, CA
2015 Art Instructor, Kids’N’Clay Pottery Studio, Berkeley, CA
Related Experience
2022 Visiting Artist, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
2019 Guest Speaker, St. Charles Community College, Cottleville, MO
Assistant to the Painting Coordinator, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 Art Editor, CrossCurrent’s Review, The University of Puget Sound’s Literary and Art Magazine, The University of Puget Sound, Tacoma WA
2014 Studio Assistant to Ken Kalman, Public Art Commission; Urban Currents, 9th and Mission, San Francisco, CA
Solo/Two-Person Exhibitions
2023 Black Swans, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA
2019 Alexa Clavijo//Rachel Kalman, Cunst Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibitions
2023 Strata II, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
2022 Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA
36th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
Contemporary Botanicals, Art Works Downtown, San Raphael, CA
Double Take, Trolley Barn Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
2021 35th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
2020 Relationships, Webster Arts, Webster Groves, MO
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley, MO
Faculty Show, St. Louis Community College at Wildwood’s Gallery of Contemporary Art, Wildwood, MO
2019 Small Works Show, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Interiors, St. Charles Community College, St. Louis, MO
Content Matters, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
MFA Thesis Exhibition, The Luminary, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2018 Parabola: Assembly, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Access: Art of Community Engagement, The Garden Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Stuff, The Safe Space, The Lewis Center, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
MFA Exhibition, Des Lee Gallery, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 Parabola: Frankenstein, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Group Show, Simon Breitbard Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
2016 BA Thesis Exhibition, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2015 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Jeremy Mangan, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2014 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Timea Tihanyi, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2013 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Helen O’Toole, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2012 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Beverly Naidus, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Grants/Awards/Residencies
2021 SECA Art Award Nomination, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Juror Special Recognition Award, 35th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
2020 Honorable Mention, Relationships, Webster Arts, Juried by Alison Erazmus, Webster Groves, MO
2019 MFA Prize in Painting, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2018 Graduate School of Art Production Grant, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 The McCarthy Scholarship, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 Artist-in-Residence Summer Grant, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Departmental Honors, Department of Art and Art History, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Barry Bauska Award: Outstanding Senior in Creative Writing, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2015 Best in Painting, Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Jeremy Mangan, Kittredge Gallery, Tacoma, WA
2015-2013 Helen Buchanan Memorial Scholarship, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, (awarded in consecutive years)
2015-2012 University of Puget Sound Dean’s Scholarship, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, (awarded in consecutive years)
2012 Best in Drawing, Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Beverly Naidus, Kittredge Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Print Media/Publications
2019 The Impossible Tasks, A Thesis Presented to the Sam Fox School of Art & Design, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 The Trail, The University of Puget Sound’s Student Publication, Tacoma, WA
2016- 2012 CrossCurrents Review, The University of Puget Sound’s Literary and Art Magazine, Tacoma, WA, (published in consecutive years
2019 MFA in Visual Art, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 BA in Studio Art (Painting), Major in English (Creative Writing), Magna cum Laude, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Teaching
Present Faculty, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
2022 Faculty, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, OR
Adjunct Faculty: Drawing, Mission College, Santa Clara, CA
2021- 2020 Adjunct Faculty: Drawing (Live Virtual Lecture), Webster University, St. Louis, MO
Adjunct Faculty: Color Theory, 2D Design, Drawing (Live Virtual Lecture), St. Charles Community College, Cottleville. MO
Adjunct Faculty: Painting I/II/III (Live Virtual Lecture), Art Appreciation, Drawing I/II/ III, St. Louis Community College, Wildwood Campus, Wildwood, MO
2019 Adjunct Faculty: Drawing, Webster University, St. Louis, MO
Adjunct Faculty: Art Appreciation, Drawing I/II/III, St. Louis Community College, Wildwood Campus, Wildwood, MO
Drawing Instructor, Portfolio Plus Program, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
Teaching Assistant: Drawing, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2018 Teaching Assistant: Intermediate Painting, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Teaching Assistant: 2D Design, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Drawing Instructor, Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, St. Louis, MO
2017 Teaching Assistant: Drawing, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 - 2016 Art Teacher, The Renaissance International School, Piedmont, CA
2015 Art Instructor, Kids’N’Clay Pottery Studio, Berkeley, CA
Related Experience
2022 Visiting Artist, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR
2019 Guest Speaker, St. Charles Community College, Cottleville, MO
Assistant to the Painting Coordinator, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 Art Editor, CrossCurrent’s Review, The University of Puget Sound’s Literary and Art Magazine, The University of Puget Sound, Tacoma WA
2014 Studio Assistant to Ken Kalman, Public Art Commission; Urban Currents, 9th and Mission, San Francisco, CA
Solo/Two-Person Exhibitions
2023 Black Swans, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA
2019 Alexa Clavijo//Rachel Kalman, Cunst Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Group Exhibitions
2023 Strata II, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland, OR
2022 Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA
36th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
Contemporary Botanicals, Art Works Downtown, San Raphael, CA
Double Take, Trolley Barn Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
2021 35th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
2020 Relationships, Webster Arts, Webster Groves, MO
Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley, MO
Faculty Show, St. Louis Community College at Wildwood’s Gallery of Contemporary Art, Wildwood, MO
2019 Small Works Show, Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Interiors, St. Charles Community College, St. Louis, MO
Content Matters, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
MFA Thesis Exhibition, The Luminary, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2018 Parabola: Assembly, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Access: Art of Community Engagement, The Garden Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Stuff, The Safe Space, The Lewis Center, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
MFA Exhibition, Des Lee Gallery, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 Parabola: Frankenstein, Des Lee Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Group Show, Simon Breitbard Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
2016 BA Thesis Exhibition, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2015 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Jeremy Mangan, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2014 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Timea Tihanyi, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2013 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Helen O’Toole, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2012 Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Beverly Naidus, Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Grants/Awards/Residencies
2021 SECA Art Award Nomination, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Juror Special Recognition Award, 35th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, Emeryville, CA
2020 Honorable Mention, Relationships, Webster Arts, Juried by Alison Erazmus, Webster Groves, MO
2019 MFA Prize in Painting, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2018 Graduate School of Art Production Grant, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2017 The McCarthy Scholarship, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 Artist-in-Residence Summer Grant, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Departmental Honors, Department of Art and Art History, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Barry Bauska Award: Outstanding Senior in Creative Writing, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
2015 Best in Painting, Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Jeremy Mangan, Kittredge Gallery, Tacoma, WA
2015-2013 Helen Buchanan Memorial Scholarship, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, (awarded in consecutive years)
2015-2012 University of Puget Sound Dean’s Scholarship, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, (awarded in consecutive years)
2012 Best in Drawing, Art Student’s Annual, Juried by Beverly Naidus, Kittredge Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Print Media/Publications
2019 The Impossible Tasks, A Thesis Presented to the Sam Fox School of Art & Design, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2016 The Trail, The University of Puget Sound’s Student Publication, Tacoma, WA
2016- 2012 CrossCurrents Review, The University of Puget Sound’s Literary and Art Magazine, Tacoma, WA, (published in consecutive years
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TRANSMISSION GALLERY
OAKLAND 770 West Grand Ave., Suite A, Oakland, CA 94612 Open Thurs-Sat, 12 to 5 pm till 8 pm on the first Friday of the month and by appointment Accessibility: This a 2nd floor art gallery, accessible by stairs. |
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