Joshua Liner Gallery is pleased to present Qualia, an exhibition of new works from Tiffany Bozic. This is the artist’s third solo exhibition with the gallery featuring nine works of acrylic on maple panel. The opening reception will take place on Thursday, October 16th from 6–8pm. The artist will not be in attendance, however, as she will be on an expedition to Namibia with husband Dr. Jack Dumbacher and daughter Tesia as they study the genetics of the elephant shrew. Much of Bozic’s work is informed by first hand experience with these expeditions with her family.

For Qualia, Bozic explores the notion of how we perceive information and experience the world around us:

I call this show Qualia, which refers to individual subjective properties of our own conscious experiences. The way you experience the color blue will be different from how another person experiences it. We will never know what it feels like for a fish to swim, or a bird to fly. It is impossible to know what subjective experiences another person or species is having. I find it fascinating that we co-exist on this planet with millions of other living beings, and that we understand little of how they see, feel, and experience the world in their own consciousness.

Documenting her personal experience with nature, it seems only natural that Bozic contemplate our individual experience, on part of the observer and as the subject.

In the work Strength in Numbers, Bozic pairs five Muskoxen with seven Weaverbirds. When threatened, the Muskox form an outward facing circle to defend their calves, protected them within the circle. Here, you can see the Weavers making their nests in the oxens’ coat. These nests form a spherical protection, enclosing their eggs and their young. Bozic explains, “I am interested in painting nature because I can explore the complex patterns within various life forms.” By combining imagery from these two disparate species, Bozic draws out the similarities by juxtaposition.

With Ducks in a Row, Bozic has a little fun, putting together this very literal imagery. From the top you can identify a Wood duck, Spectacled Eider, Mandarin duck, Bufflehead, another Mandarin duck, and lastly a Harlequin duck. Bozic almost exclusively uses maple panel when painting. The quality of the paint hardly seems acrylic; the artist expertly dilutes the paint so much so, that she must paint with the surface laying flat to prevent the paint from running. In contrast to previous exhibitions, many of the works featured in Qualia boast the natural grain of the maple panel, integrating the wood into the composition.

Melting Glass is a beautiful example of this technique of integrating the surface medium into the subject matter. The cutting channels in the ice and snow mimic the wood grain, just barely peeking through. For this work, Bozic remembers a trip to Mount Lassen, California, with her husband. Recalling the experience-even though several years had passed-Bozic finally sat down to create this painting, remembering her imagination of “deep sea organisms slowly drifting up into the sky from the black current of the water.” She also notes, “I suppose the image stuck with me because it could be a metaphor for a lot of my different emotions… some light and warm, some deep and cold.” The contrasting tones and shades lend themselves to this mood, with negative dark space and dark trees emerging from the solid white snow forms. The ethereal sea shapes preside over the scene.

In an attempt to relay her consciousness’ perspective, this body of work is a rich account of Tiffany Bozic’s incredible encounters with nature. Bozic describes the source of her inspiration as a “complex and inexplicable world.” However, with Qualia, Bozic’s world is within reach and beautifully discrete.

Born in 1979 in Arkansas, Tiffany Bozic currently lives and works in San Francisco. Solo exhibitions of her work include Sense of Wonder at FFDG, San Francisco, CA (2013); Transformation at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (2012); Confiding in Strangers at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (2010); Symmetrical Balance at FFDG, San Francisco, CA, and Bedtime Stories at Kinsey/DesForges Gallery, Culver City, CA (both 2008). Selected group exhibitions include: Direct Address: An Inaugural Group Exhibition at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY (2012); Art Basel Miami with Electric Works Gallery, Miami, FL, and In the Land of Retinal Delights at the Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA (2008). Bozic has been a noted guest speaker at selected lectures: Semi-Permanent (2013, 2007); California Academy of Sciences, CA (2007).