After seven years and sixty exhibitions, Oakland’s Krowswork gallery is closing its doors on December 22. Tucked behind an iron gate on 23rd Street near the center of the First Friday Street Fair, the gallery has long been a mainstay of the city’s arts scene. Director Jasmine Moorhead has focused on work that wouldn’t fit into more traditional art spaces; pieces that most curators would consider too insular, odd, or difficult for audiences to grasp. And, in the past year, she’s honed in on providing a serious platform for artists who create windows into other dimensions, whether spiritual, philosophical, or energetic. For the gallery’s last hurrah, Moorhead presents Dreams, Visions, Guides, & Vespers: Fariba Bogzaran – Georgia Carbone – Yu-Shioh – Chelsea Rushton, from December 16-22. It’s a seven-day exhibition to end seven years of programming, highlighting four artists who conceptualize their practices as channels from outside sources of inspiration. Featured artist Fariba Bogzaran, for example, is a pioneer in the field of dream studies and is billed as someone who generates her artwork while lucid dreaming — a state of being conscious within a dream. The opening reception on Friday, December 16, features a healing and sound ritual for grieving individuals by artist Georgia Carbone. And on Wednesday, December 21, Moorhead gives a lecture and presentation called “This is Not a Metaphor,” which will reflect on her time running the gallery. Considering the consistent thoughtfulness and philosophical richness of Moorhead’s programs over the years, the talk will surely transcend mere conversation about curating. As Moorhead’s last Krowswork curatorial statement reads, “Be healed. Be changed. That’s what art is for.”
.Dreams, Visions, Guides, & Vespers At Krowswork
