Sp[a]ce at Ayzenberg is thrilled to announce its third exhibition, Movement + Narrative, curated by F. Scott Hess, opening February 4, 2018. Participating artists include Alla Bartoshchuk, Carl Dobsky, John Griswold, Kenny Harris, Andrew Hem, Cody Jimenez, Julio Labra, Dana Christine Lewis, Perin Mahler, Serena Potter, Cynthia Sitton, Timothy Robert Smith, Sarah Stieber, and Peter Zokosky.

The works in this exhibition promote interwoven themes of movement and narrative, with perceptions of the former creating the latter. Each piece carries a distinct visual identity that, when placed all together, inspire an empathetic response in the viewer, enhancing the overall aesthetic experience. By injecting motion to the motionless, Movement + Narrative’s images are imbued with a sense of action, which then craft their own story in the viewer’s eye.

“I've spent my whole artistic life trying to make believable 'living' figures on canvas, and in the process discovered that the most critical element in giving them that spark of life is imbuing them with a convincing sense of movement or the sense that they could move at any time,” explains Hess. “Most of my works involve complex narratives, and movement is the engine that drives my narratives. Narrative is an accounting of connected events. As these events are not happening simultaneously, there is in narrative an implied movement from one moment or episode to the next. Movement occurs in narrative going from what was towards what is going to be, from the past to the future. Movement and Narrative are therefore interconnected.”

The group show was originally scheduled for exhibition at Gregorio Escalante Gallery in January 2018. However, after the gallery’s closure when Escalante unexpectedly passed away, the exhibit lost its home. sp[a]ce gallery is thrilled to host such iconic programming, which Hess has expanded beyond its original scope to include additional artists.

F. Scott Hess is a Los Angeles-based conceptual artist, painter, and associate professor whose work often blends realistic scenes of everyday life with symbolic and allegorical events, humor, eroticism, and voyeurism. His works have been displayed in solo and group exhibitions abroad, and a number of his pieces have been purchased by museums as part of permanent collections. In this exhibition, Hess brings together a diverse set of artists whose work both independently and cohesively elicit empathetic responses through inspiring and thought-provoking images.