April 21- 29, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 21st | 6 – 9 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

Catalyst is pleased to present Living to Work, a solo installation project by Tessa Kurszewski which examines the repetitious, mundane nature of office work in America.

Click to see Tessa's flickr collection.

open…stand…teeth…face…hair…
open…close…open…close…
turn…shift…
left…left…right…right…left…left…stop…
avendale…crown valley…5 north…bake parkway…
up…open…open…on…on…on…
open…1…2…3…fill…fill..fill…
2 double-sided…3 double-sided…4 double-sided…
coversheet…request…request…application for judgement…
judgement…staple…application for writ…writ…staple…
sheriffs instructions…staple…
original…file copy…
2 double-sided…6 double-sided…stapled…
original…copy…staple…
down…up…
down…up…
2 single-sided…3 single-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…stapled…
3 single-sided…stapled…3 double-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…stapled…
3 single-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…3 single-sided..
Clip…clip…clip…
2 single-sided…3 single-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…stapled…
3 single-sided…stapled…3 double-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…stapled…
3 single-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…3 single-sided..
Clip…clip…clip…
2 single-sided…3 single-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…stapled…
3 single-sided…stapled…3 double-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…stapled…
3 single-sided…stapled…3 single-sided…3 single-sided..
Clip…clip…clip…
down…up…
down…up…
2 double-sided…3 double-sided…4 double-sided…
coversheet…request…request…application for judgement…
judgement…staple…application for writ…writ…staple…
sheriffs instructions…staple…
original…file copy…
2 double-sided…3 double-sided…4 double-sided…
coversheet…request…request…application for judgement…
judgement…staple…application for writ…writ…staple…
sheriffs instructions…staple…
original…file copy…
open…down…open…close…
turn…shift…
bake parkway…5 north…crown valley…avendale…
right…right…left…left…right…right…
stop…

Crit Circle

February 25th, 2010 → 5:00 pm

March 31 – April 8, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 31st | 6 – 9 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

Catalyst is pleased to present Cancelled, a solo project by Kelly McKnight that examines the traverse economy of the United States postal service in Orange County through the medium of photography.

Made void, annulled
Deleted, Erased
Crossed out by drawing lines through it

“Cancelled is an examination of the United Sates Postal Service system.  Focusing on the Southern California region of Orange County, I took a picture of every post office in Orange County, made them into postcards, and sent them through the mail.  At first, I was intrigued by the fact that an item starting at point A ‘magically’ appears at point B precisely every time.  I attempted to infiltrate the middle ground, point between A and B, to be a part of the miracle of organization and efficiency.  The gathering of photographs was a test of endurance, but the act of crossing off each location mirrored the system’s rumored future.  It was as if I was sealing its fate.  However, like all magic tricks, discovering how the tricks are performed is not half as interesting as imagining how it might work.  By writing questions with a request for answers on some of the postcards, I had hoped to engage the postal workers, to bring them forward and so give the postal system a face, to make it visible.  It soon became apparent that the only way to pull out the humanity buried in an institution that ultimately turned out to be the same dull blue-gray of the postal service uniform was to “attack” it; that is, it was necessary to confront the employees directly and force them to surface as curious individuals instead of cogs in the machine.

Drawing close to the resolution of the field part of this piece, I found that all the parcels, without even being glanced at, are sent to one central hub to be cancelled before they can be sent to their final destination  That knowledge made me wonder: What is the difference, then,  between me and the postal carriers?  I proved that I can get from place to place just as easily, and drop off parcels where they are intended to go.  Even so, I always wait eagerly for the day’s mail.  In the end, some things are made to only be seen from the outside, in case they lose their charm.” -McKnigt

February 17 – March 4, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 17, 2011 | 6 – 9 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

Catalyst is pleased to present our first joint-school exhibition, Nexus, which lays out an array of works by UCI and CSUF undergraduates that explore similar themes of consumerism, identity, and representation. The show features the works by:

Marissa Danielsen
Hank Huang
Daniel Lopez
Megan McGilvray
Janice Miyagi
Shayla Ragone

"dear mum" by Janice Miyagi, acrylic and oil on canvas

"hey v" by Janice Miyagi, acrylic and oil on canvas

"dad" by Janice Miyagi, oil on canvas

"Assange" by Marissa Danielsen, ink on paper, stencil, letterpress

"Drifting Away" by Hank Huang, mixed media

From left to right: "Still Life (with Still Life (with Still Life (with Still Life)))", "YOUR TITLE HERE", "Furry Spaceship" by Daniel Lopez, c-prints

From left to right: "Trees", "Little Red Riding Hood" by Shayla Ragone, ink drawings on paper

"Shoe Tree" by Shayla Ragone, oak, hydro-cal, aluminum cast, steel

Time: October 21 – November 3, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 21, 2010 | 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Location: Catalyst Gallery

An installation by Noe Gaytan that focuses on mythologies around color theory as inspired by Felix Gonzales-Torres, Johannes Itten, Joseph Kosuth, Joseph Albers, Laurence Weiner.

Crit Circle

November 2nd, 2010 → 7:15 pm

Special thanks to Greydog Signs & Displays, Inc. and Mara Lonner.

Time: Tuesday, September 15, 2010 | 7:00 PM
Location: Catalyst Gallery

A sculpture by Kelly Mayfield. Listen to the critique below.

Time: April 1 – 7, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, April 1, 2010 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

A solo installation by Paulo Villanueva.

Artist Statement

Time: February 18 – 25, 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, February 18, 2010 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

A solo installation by Mitchell Klein.

Crit Circle

Time: Thursday, December 3, 2009 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

A solo, mixed media installation by Dorothy Phan that examines self-reflectivity in juxtaposition to techology’s influence on society.

pre-exhibtion

Time: Thursday, October 8, 2009 | 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Location: Catalyst Gallery

A solo installtion by Hannah Hirsekorn.

I thought about how cold and terrifying that dark highway must have been,

whether he could see the stars from where he lay on his back in the road.

“This piece is very close to my heart. The words that I have cut into toast here are not my own but my brother’s. He wrote them in a typewritten letter to me about the death of his best friend about a ray and a half ago. The piece is about my brother; he is my comfort food; he is one of my best fiends. He know me and how I think better than most people. I am so thankful for his presence in my life. Most of my work is very personal; my narrative is all I have to offer. And my narrative is full of tea and toast!” -Hannah Hirsekorn