Sarah Hotchkiss
Chiasmus, 2020

gouache on canvas over panel
36”H x 36”W

ARTwork statement:

A “chiasmus” is a rhetorical phrase in which a grammatical structure is repeated in reverse order to invert its meaning, essentially creating a criss-cross shape. That “X” shape is the basic arrangement of this painting, which borrows much from mandalas: designs found in many cultures and often believed to show the organizational structure of all life. In ‘Chiasmus,’ I was interested in creating a mandala of more abstract, lesser-known concepts — the intangible things we want to carry with us into a better future (an ark of ideas). The painting includes T-squares (two-dimensional fractals that have an infinite boundary within finite space), a saw blade to cut through the mess, and design elements borrowed from test cards used for optical calibration and alignment. By inverting structure, a chiasmus uses existing power against itself, upending hierarchy. Similarly, ‘Chiasmus’ the painting has no “correct” orientation, with each quadrant slightly differentiated to push back against a reliance on binaries.

ARTIST BIO:

Sarah Hotchkiss is a San Francisco artist and arts writer. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at Friends Indeed, San Francisco; and group shows at Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, and Cheymore Gallery, Tuxedo Park, New York. Her work has been featured in the San Francisco Arts Commission’s public art program and she has attended residencies at Skowhegan, ACRE, and the Vermont Studio Center. In 2019, she received the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation grant for her work as the senior arts editor at KQED.