Question 1

MAY 28 - SEPT 4 | Understory as Retold by Trinh Mai & Birds

Accepted Answer

Understory as retold by Trinh Mai & birds May 28 - September 4, 2022 Reception: Saturday, May 28, 2022, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.  Join us before the reception for a special Artist Walk & Talk from 1:00-2:00PM on the day of the reception! Meet the artist and experience an intimate gallery walk through with Trinh Mai.   –––––––––––       In an effort to examine the refugee and immigrant experience, then and now, Trinh Mai renders the stories whose threads bind our witnessing of war, our will to survive the wounds they’ve planted, and our waking from the wreckage that calls forth inevitable growth.  Huddled in the thick forest, the understory is composed of an assortment of seedlings and saplings of young canopy trees. They persist in the understory sometimes for decades as juveniles, awaiting patiently for light to break in the forest overstory, which will offer them the sunlight that propels their growth into the canopy. This echoes what the ancestors have done for us through their sacrifices, bravery, and love—this compiled inherited strength to overcome the wars we face, and courage the which we arm ourselves for the battles to come.   This layer of vegetation beneath the main canopy of the forest is where our people take cover during their escape from relentless wars. We find shelter in the understory. We conceal our stories when they are too much to bear. These are stories that lie beneath stories. These are the stories of growth and destruction, beauty and decay, trauma and strength that lives in us all at once. These are the stories of darkness, and the light who yields the power to pierce it.   Understory weaves we the people—the living history—into the forgone histories whose effects remain deeply rooted in humanity still. It tells of the inpouring of those fleeing oppression and the indwelling of an inherent resilience that stirs wildly within us, even when trudging in the darkness of wars, personal and political. These are the stories of us—the ones that have been seeded in hardship and healing, in persecution and perseverance, in displacement, despair and determination—these that inspire compassion and custodial responsibility.   This exhibition acknowledges the wars that have always been. It waters that which has seeped itself deep into the soil upon which we now stand, and harvests the pulp before folding it into the fissures of the fractured, with the hope of cultivating new courage.   Remembering our predecessors, those who have fought alongside us, and the ones in mid-flight, Understory honors our existence as an enduring people.   Image credit: Trinh Mai, Flesh of my Flesh, 2020

Question 2

MAY 21 - JULY 17 |  Close Up/From a Distance: Botanical & Landscape Photographs by Joe Ramos

Accepted Answer

Close Up/From a Distance Botanical and Landscape Photographs by Joe Ramos May 21 - July 17, 2022  Reception: Saturday, May 28, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  –––––––––––     Joe Ramos grew up in the Salinas Valley in a a Filipino and Mexican farmworker family. He lived mostly in farm labor camps around the small town of Soledad. The abundance of botanical things and the splendid landscapes of the Salinas Valley influenced his visual vocabulary at a young age. He was witness to cyclical changes in plant life and was aware of the subtle changes in the landscape as he lived between two divergent mountain ranges - the dry and smooth Gabilan range to the east and the high, dark, mysterious Santa Lucia to the west. Ramos was well aware of how the light brought high and low drama to both mountain ranges.   According to Ramos, these photographs would not have been as alive as they are if not for the visual memories he acquired as a child and adolescent growing up in the Salinas Valley. The cycles of the botanical life of the labor camp gardens and the subtle and dramatic ever-changing light of the Salinas Valley of my young life inform the photographs in this exhibit.  Image credit: Joe Ramos, Zabriskie Point, South, Death Valley, 2020

Question 3

MAY 14 - AUG 21 | Dana Harris Seeger: The Myth of Memory

Accepted Answer

Dana Harris Seeger The Myth of Memory May 14 - August 21, 2022  Reception: May 28, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  –––––––––––

Question 4

MAY 7 - AUG 21 | Christine Moore Moran: The Face of an Amazon Warrior

Accepted Answer

Christine Moore Moran The Face of an Amazon Warrior with video by Bryan Callanta May 7 - August 21, 2022  Reception: May 28, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  ________________________________      2500 year ago, a young Scythian woman lived, worked, rode, hunted, and fought in what is now Ukraine.  She was one of what ancient writers such Herodotus referred to as … Amazons.  Forensic artist Chris Moran was tasked with creating a forensic facial reconstruction from a cast of the 2500 year old skull of this Amazon Scythian warrior. The result represents the intersection of science, technology, and art.  This exhibition is accompanied by an in-gallery video documentary by Triton Museum Curator of Digital Programming, Bryan Callanta.  This exhibition is even more timely given the current horrific plight of the Ukrainian people, wherein many women have also joined in the fight to defend their country.

Question 5

MAY 14 - JULY 17 |  Let’s Face It!

Accepted Answer

Let’s Face It Selections from the Permanent Collection May 14 - July 17, 2022  Reception: Saturday, May 28, from 2:00-4:00 p.m.  –––––––––––     Throughout time artists have reflected humankind through portrait and figure painting.  They reveal to us our emotions, psychologies, and reflect the times through a variety of artistic styles and techniques.    Artists included in this exhibition of works from the Triton Museum’s Permanent Collection include: Elaine Bagley Arnoux; Vanessa Callanta; Domenic Cretara; Ted Fontaine; Charles Eckart; Arthur Gonzales; Deborah Hamon; Sandra Jones; Katherine Levin-Law; Susan Manchester; Mike Narciso; John Nava; Cuong Nguyen; Jane Olin; Gage Opdenbrouw; Emmy Lou Packard; David Post; Carol S. Ragle; Anthony Riggs; George Rivera; Alvin Thompson; David Tomb; Ruth Tunstall Grant; and Vicki Walsh.

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