Kristin Posehn » exhibitions

Performance and closing reception for ‘The wilds of epiphenomena’

practice — Sat, 11 May 2024 20:53:18 +0000

On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Phase Gallery will be hosting a performance by composer Andrew Moses, followed by an artist walk-through of the exhibition, as a part of the closing reception for The wilds of epiphenomena.

The wilds of epiphenomena

Scott Benzel, Tanya Brodsky, Alice Könitz, Rita McBride, Kristin Posehn

An epiphenomena is a second-order phenomenon. In the philosophy of mind, it relates to a theory whereby matter gives rise to mental phenomena and consciousness. Each work in The wilds of epiphenomena explores and probes a world beyond the ordinary, a world of second-order and higher phenomena. With materials ranging from dry ice to currency and electronics, these artworks give rise to physical, imaginal, and conceptual shape-shifting, hinting at the mutable nature of mind and presence.

Curated by Kristin Posehn

Phase Gallery 1718 Albion Street, Los Angeles, 90031

Performance by Andrew Moses, 2pm

Artist walk-through and closing reception, 3-5pm

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Photo by Ewa Słapa

Southland Institute Discussions in Exhibitions at ‘The wilds of epiphenomena’

practice — Sat, 11 May 2024 20:30:30 +0000

Southland Institute hosted an installment of their public Discussion in Exhibitions program in The wilds of epiphenomena at Phase Gallery.

Photo by Ewa Słapa

Opening reception for ‘The wilds of epiphenomena’ at Phase Gallery

practice — Sat, 11 May 2024 20:18:04 +0000

Photo by Alice Clements

Photo by Ewa Słapa

CurateLA selects ‘The wilds of epiphenomena’ as a must-see

practice — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 03:28:37 +0000

Thank you to CurateLA for selecting The wilds of epiphenomena at Phase Gallery as a must-see exhibition.

New exhibition—’The wilds of epiphenomena’ at Phase Gallery

practice — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 03:12:17 +0000

I’m thrilled to have curated a new exhibition of LA-based conceptual sculptors at Phase Gallery. The exhibition runs from April 13 – May 11, 2024. Full details below.

The wilds of epiphenomena

Scott Benzel, Tanya Brodsky, Alice Könitz, Rita McBride, Kristin Posehn

Curated by Kristin Posehn

Phase Gallery 1718 Albion Street, Los Angeles, 90031

April 13 – May 11, 2024

Monday – Thursday 9am – 5pm, weekends by appointment

Image: Scott Benzel

Ghost Pearls + Epiphenomena on Saturday, June 10

practice — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:01:20 +0000

Ghost Pearls + Epiphenomena

Saturday, June 10, 2-6pm

RSVP for address

The event will feature a 9 x 8 foot architectural sculpture made from 1000 pieces of individually cut mirror woven into a form of lace, titled Ghost Pearls.

Ghost Pearls explores spaces of connection and mediation. The work is based on research into local and historical forms of lace-making, early digital art, and contemporary virtual space. It references lace in the collection of the Fairview Museum, UT; conversations with lace-makers; historical links between lace, value, and time; the 1964 digital artwork Ninety Parallel Sinusoids with Linearly Increasing Period by A. Michael Noll; and works of the Light and Space movement. The work was the subject of a recent solo exhibition at Granary Arts.

Also on view, a popup tabletop exhibition of works by Rita McBride, Alice Könitz, Scott Benzel, and Tanya Brodsky, titled Epiphenomena. Each of these small-scale sculptures gives rise to second-order phenomena, such as reflectivity, state changes, and other experiential properties. With materials that range from dry ice to electronics, their emergent phenomena hint at the mutable nature of perception and presence.

Digital Study #8 (Oolite)

practice — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 23:08:04 +0000

In conjunction with my exhibition Ghost Pearls at Granary Arts, UT, I’ve been releasing a series of fully digital studies that further expand ideas touched on within the show. The third and final work is Oolite.

Digital Study #8 (Oolite), 2023

This study encodes information found in a historic 1856 ledger, expressing and reimagining that data as a transparent glass sculpture.

The ledger was kept by the women-owned and operated Ephraim Relief Society. It recorded the amount of eggs donated by members to support the Society’s charitable activities in the community.

At the time, within the local community eggs were considered a cash equivalent, and could be freely exchanged for goods and services.

Oolite is a sedimentary rock composed of spherical grains; its name derives from the Ancient Greek word for egg.

Millions of years ago, oolite formed as microscopic debris were tossed by wind and waves across shallow areas of the Great Salt Lake, gradually accumulating layers of calcium carbonate, much like pearls.

Oolitic limestone is endemic in the region, and has been used as a building material for many historic structures, including Granary Arts, where this work has been hosted, supported, and shown.

This series has explored ways in which economic structures, purpose, and community can be linked; and forms by which voice can be transmitted across time.

Digital Study #7 (Gift Waves)

practice — Sat, 14 Jan 2023 02:34:33 +0000

In conjunction with my ongoing exhibition Ghost Pearls at Granary Arts, UT, I’m releasing a series of fully digital studies that further expand ideas touched on within the show. This series explores ways in which economic structures, purpose, and community can be linked; and forms by which voice can be transmitted across time. The second in this series of three works is Gift Waves.

Digital Study #7 (Gift Waves), 2023

As Granary Arts Fellow, I researched histories of lace in Ephraim, UT. One afternoon, the local artist Julie Johnson invited me to lunch at her home, shared her lace-making practice, taught me basic stitches, and gifted me a piece she had made. During the residency, I was also researching archival material relating to the Ephraim Relief Society—a unique, women-owned and operated organization that played a key role in Ephraim’s history—and in particular, the ledgers the Relief Society kept from ~1856-1950 to record their significant charitable activities across the community. These interests were connected, as both lace and ledgers are formats for encoding value and time.

In this digital study, the physical lace Julie Johnson gifted to me is reimagined as a virtual column made of transparent, woven glass links. With the spirit of exchange, this work is gifted to her.

Digital Study #6 (Streaming)

practice — Sat, 07 Jan 2023 01:47:50 +0000

Digital Study #6 (Streaming), 2023

This study was inspired by research into the Ephraim Relief Society, a unique, women-owned and operated organization that played a foundational role in the local community of Ephraim, UT, from 1856 through the early 20th century.

Though little is known about their lives, a series of ledgers kept by the women of the Ephraim Relief Society record their receipt of donations, significant charitable contributions within the local community, attendance at meetings, and snippets of their voices as recorded in meeting minutes.

In this digital study, long chains made of mirror hang side-by-side in the gallery, reflecting back an otherwise unseen exterior world. The series touches on questions of how economic structures, purpose, and community might be linked; forms by which voice is transmitted across time; histories of weaving and early digital art, and more.

New group exhibition

practice — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 22:16:28 +0000

My painting Most Mystic is included in Garden, a group exhibition at Ladies’ Room through January 31, 2023.

Most Mystic, acrylic and mica on canvas, 20 x 24 inches, 2020

Kristin Posehn’s paintings are inspired by the reflections of skyscrapers into skyscrapers, a phenomena we can observe in dense financial centers around the world. In her vision, the reflective patterns of these mega-structures become delicate, atmospheric, and haunting glyphs that never repeat. Her paintings change and play in a sly dance with light, evoking languages at once ancient and futuristic.