C2C Project Space

c2c project space is pleased to announce our 11^th project exhibition, a pairing that features artwork by Justin Mata and Jacob Cartwright. Mata, born in California, received his MFA from SVA in NYC, before returning to the West Coast to live and work in San Francisco. Cartwright, born in Illinois, spent formative years on the West Coast in Oregon before making the eastern pilgrimage to live and work in NYC. A focus on their mutual bicoastal experience, which ultimately resulted in their veering in opposite directions, encapsulates the original impetus for the inception of the c2c Project Space.  Its aim has been to attempt to compare and contrast the realities of art making on the two coasts of this great land, with the conceptual and literal expanse between them being a space for dialog and development on either side.

Artistically, both Justin and Jacob are adept at optically enticing viewers, inviting them into their respective picture planes.  However, the apparent accessibility of these works is limited, and once ensnared devices are utilized so that eager eyes may not easily venture to great depths. Instead, attempts to plumb too far beyond the surface are blunted by material physicality and content, pushing ones gaze back towards the front of the painting. This tension is achieved by the artists through the use of barriers that seem to trap one’s viewing in a mid range zone of the depth of the composition… leaving viewers somewhere between floating and sinking into the work.  As fans of these artists, we have personally been trapped in their work since we first discovered it, and we can’t wait to see what they install together in our space.

The exhibition will open with an artist reception (both artists in attendance) on Saturday, October 8 from 6-9pm. It will run through November 6 with gallery hours on Sundays from 12-5pm. c2c project space is at 1695 18^th Street #413 in San Francisco (cross streets are Carolina and Arkansas).