ARTIST STATEMENT
The Crossroads of Erasure and Renewal began as a practical task recycling a growing stack ofused canvases in the Artists First studio that needed to be re-gessoed. Each canvas carried a past life, once celebrated as a finished work of art. Standing at the crossroads of erasure and renewal, we began to ask, why stop at wiping the slate clean? What does it mean to truly begin again? These questions prompted reflection on how erasure operates in our culture; whose stories are overlooked, whose voices are preserved, and how renewal can become an act of reclaiming space, visibility, and creative agency. Through this lens, beginning again is not about forgetting the past, but about honoring and amplifying the histories and perspectives too often pushed aside.

With these questions in mind, the physical act of preparing the canvas became a metaphor for this larger inquiry. Traditionally, gesso prepares a surface by obscuring what came before—a literal act of covering in order to start anew. We chose instead to engage with the past. These existing works became collaborators rather than discarded pieces, foundations upon which something new could emerge.

Through partial coverage, layering, and reworking, we created hybrid pieces that exist simultaneously in the past and present. Traces of original colors and textures remain intentionally visible, fragments of earlier creativity that continue to speak within the new composition. Each canvas becomes a dialogue across time, process, and artistic voice. The Crossroads of Erasure and Renewal explores continuity, transformation, and the evolving nature of creativity. It challenges the notion of permanence and celebrates the layered, sometimes unpredictable journey of making art. In doing so, it invites viewers to reconsider renewal, not as erasure, but as an act of connection, reinterpretation, and shared creative expression.

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ARTIST BIO

ARTISTRY, COMMUNITY, DIGNITY
At Artists First, we believe creativity is a human right and a powerful tool for equity, inclusion, and social change. Our studio is a space where artists of all abilities, often underrepresented or marginalized, can explore, experiment, and express themselves freely; where they claim visibility, voice, and agency. Every brushstroke, mark, and choice of medium tells a story of resilience, imagination, and is an act of self-expression and resistance against systems that silence or seek to define creativity.