This weekend, Caroline Hwang, a Brooklyn-based artist transplanted from California, returns for her first solo exhibition in the Golden State. Giant Robot San Francisco is hosting an opening reception for an exhibition of her new work this Saturday from 6:30 - 10:00 pm.

Influenced as much by her grandmother's crocheting and knitting as by crafts, graphic arts and quilting, Caroline's hand-stitched art has evolved over the last several years toward a moody expressiveness. The work on view under the title Salvage employs a nautical theme rendered in deep marine and indigo blue hues. In these images, ocean rescue operations become a metaphor for the dynamics of relationships, and in particular, for the difficulty of salvaging wrecked relationships.

Above: Three from the Salvage series by Caroline Hwang, courtesy of the artist.

In a phone interview this morning Caroline said, "I went to a talk given by the artist Andrea Zittel a couple of years ago when she had a show at the New Museum. I really admire that fact that a lot of the work that she creates, she embodies in her daily life." She went on to say that Zittel built a home in the desert where she conducts highly structured design experiments that border on fine art and design, with self-imposed restrictions on raw materials. "I feel that there is such a strong division between the worlds of art and design that when an artist is accepted by both, it is very inspiring."

Impressed by Zittel's practice of limiting her art materials and her material goods to the bare essentials, Caroline decided to limit her palette to a few deep tonalities that make up the pieces in the Salvage series. By doing this, she said, it forced her to deal with the artistic process of creating a highly structured visual narrative. She has since extended the nautical theme to a new series based on navy signal flags, which will be exhibited later this year.

Caroline Hwang's work has exhibited at Clementine Gallery (New York), New Image Gallery (Los Angeles), Motel Gallery (Portland), and 96 Gillespie (London). She has been featured in Paper and Adorn magazine, Swindle Quarterly, and has created editorial illustrations for The New York Times, Bust, and How.

Caroline Hwang: Salvage
January 12 - February 13, 2008
Opening reception: Saturday, January 12, 6:30 - 10:00 pm
Giant Robot San Francisco
618 Shrader Street, around the corner from Haight Street
415-876-4773