Artist Talk | MIGRATION | PAMELA MERORY DERNHAM
Artist Pamela Merory Dernham talks about her artwork "To a Better Life" included in this group show at Vessel Gallery's new location 480 23rd Street, Oakland, CA.
MIGRATION - February 15 - March 21, 2020
To A Better Life | Annealed steel wire | 34h x 7w x 2d in
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To A Better Life
Migration is a continuing theme of the human story. The movement of people out of Africa about 50 to 80 thousand years ago was the first great migration. Over time humans moved and settled all over the world. And then migration continued.
Why would anyone leave their home to go somewhere else? “Home” is a concept we treasure. It conjures images of a protective family, of a tight-knit community, of the buildings and landscape that form our first images of the outside world. Though undoubtedly not perfect, it provides a sense of safety and security. It grounds us.
It is when home is no longer safe and secure that populations of people migrate. Human-made reasons to migrate include violence, persecution, war, and economic changes or collapse. There are also forces of nature that impel migration. In past and present, these include earthquakes, floods, and storms. In the future, a huge part will be played by the effects of climate change, such as drought, soil erosion, and rising sea levels.
The driver of individual and population migration is the desire, the need, for a safe, secure place to live. A place to set down new roots and build a new home. This is what led our own ancestors to move long ago and members of our own families as recently as the current generation. It is something we must all remember is true when we are tempted to close our hearts to the migrations taking place now. The figures in this sculpture stand-in for all migrants since humans were first on the move. They are looking forward, to a place to build a new home. To a better life.
BIO
Pamela Merory Dernham is an Oakland, California-based artist who exhibits nationally and whose work is collected internationally. Currently, she is in the exhibition "Migration" curated by Lonnie Lee at Vessel Gallery in Oakland, Ca. Vessel Gallery is one of the attention worthy galleries of the "Oakland Renaissance" and Merory Dernham is proud to have been included in numerous exhibits there.
Last year, she was thrilled to participate in the exhibition "Personal Structures" organized by the European Cultural Center at the Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy. It was one of the collateral exhibitions during the 2019 Venice Biennale.
Before that Merory Dernham was in the two-person exhibit "This Land We Share" at Vessel Gallery in Oakland, Ca. and as well as the group shows "Motive," in 2017, "Artists: Women/Making Art" in 2015, "The Human Form as Vessel" in 2013, "Ensembles & Orchestras" in 2012. She had a solo exhibit "Body Language" in 2011.
"The Joy of Arrival," a large-scale outdoor sculpture which is a reflection on the themes of exodus and immigration is currently on long-term exhibition at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, Ca.
Further public works placed by Vessel Gallery include four large scale sculptures at the Kenneth Rainin Foundation in Oakland, Ca., two of which had previously been on display at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, Ca.
Merory Dernham has exhibited extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area, including solo exhibits in 2008 at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and the di Rosa Preserve in 2004; and group exhibits at California College of the Arts (2006), the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art (2005), and Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey (2004).
Merory Dernham’s inspiration has always been the human figure. Her current work takes the human figure in 2 directions: first, as an allusion to landscape, and second, as a performative presence directly engaging the viewer. While based on the figure, her steel wire sculpture continues to evolve in the direction of abstraction. The figures are "stripped down" to the minimal requirements for expression through gesture.
Merory Dernham earned her Master of Fine Arts Degree at the California College of the Arts (CCA). She is an active member of the Pacific Rim Sculptors Group and was also active in the Alumni Council of California College of the Arts.
MIGRATION Exhibit Slides Show
